Farmers' Five-mile Limit Supported
Page 37
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ADVICE to an applicant to withdraw his case was given by the Northern Licensing Authority last week, when it transpired during the hearing that Mr. T. Percival, Esk Boat House, Rockcliffe, who wished to carry for neighbouring farmers to destinations beyond the 25 miles stipulated on his B licence, was himself engaged in agriculture and therefore able to meet the demands of farmert in his locality without recourse to the Authority.
The Authority referred to the decision of the Yorkshire Licensing Authority (reported in The Commercial Motor on April 2) that neighbouring farmers were to be defined as those within five miles' radius of the carrier. For the applicant, Mr. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw said that this limit had never been settled by the High Court. The evidence was that all the farmers in the present case were within seven miles.
The Authority: " I think locality ' means something local to a particular district and I should think five miles is pretty well the limit, and anything beyond that would be stretched unless it could be clearly shown to be local. Any operator who thinks he is safe in carrying for anyone in the whole area is mistaken."
He warned the applicant that if he went farther afield than five miles there might "be some trouble."