L.A. Warns Gravel Association in 'Pool' Application
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UTEMBER firms of the South StaffordNI shire Gravel Association, who on Vlonday were given approval for their scooted traffic scheme, were Warned by the Vest Midland Licensing Authority, Mr. lohn Else, that they must not use their itrong transport position to enforce msatisfactory conditions on the hauliers who had to operate the licences. If the kssociation did reduce rates and impose Insatisfactory conditions it could have the dect, he said, of driving some hauliers nit of business. If that happened and he Association came before him to ask or replacements, they would have some lifficulties in getting them.
Some 30 'operators, mostly based in iouth Staffordshire, had applied for B icences to enable them to carry sand, gravel and road making materials from the pits and quarries of the members of the South Staffordshire Gravel Association, for any of the members. The application asked for a radius of 100 miles from the market square at Cannock.
The Authority grarited the applications but limited the radius to 35 miles from Cannock, except in the case of one firm which was granted the 100 miles asked for.
Mr. Else said that there was no doubt that inter-availability of each other's transport would be of great benefit to
• the members of the Association. He went on: "but nobody has brought before me what I thought was the real evidence required—evidence from consumer-customers. There is no evidence
at all that the customers—the people to whom the goods are delivered--are in any difficulty or have been in -any way inconvenienced ".
Mr. Else said that he was satisfied that the sand arid gravel industry was an expanding one and would continue to expand. Further, if this application were granted, it would not lead to any increase of vehicles on the roads. He had therefore to balance the unsatisfactory picture of the evidence against the fact that there was an expanding industry and an application would not involve any additional vehicles. He went on: "On balance, and with some reluctance, I feel I can say, particularly in view of the fact that there has been no evidence by the objectors, that a case has been made out for a grant to be made."