Milk haulier's parking question floors DLA
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NORTH EASTERN Licensing Authority Frederick Whalley has adjourned consideration of a North Yorkshire tank haulier's renewal application because of problems about where its milk tankers are parked.
Sayers Bulk Liquids applied to renew its licence for six vehicles and nine trailers with 14 vehicles and one trailer to be acquired, with an operating centre at Station Yard, Brompton, and attracted opposition from North Yorkshire County Council and Hambleton I)istrict Council.
Company director 1)avid Sayers amended its application to 12 vehicles and trailers, and said that the vehicles were away from base at all times.
They carried milk to 1,500 to 2,000 dairies throughout the country. The drivers stayed with the vehicles and slept in them overnight, usually at the dairies.
The vehicles only returned to Station Yard for servicing or when they were in the area. It is difficult to specify where the vehicles arc normally parked because they do
not necessarily have the same drivers on a regular basis.
No more than two vehicles and trailers would be parked at the operating centre. A vehicle examiner had indicated there were insufficient maintenance facilities for 20 vehicles at Station Yard. but that he would be happy with 12 vehicles.
Janet Smith, for the district council, said it felt the planning permission for the site only covers the parking of two vehicles and trailers. It could not accommodate the additional vehicles and trailers applied for.
There is an unauthorised parking problem in the locality and the council fears that an overspill from Sayers would aggravate the problem. Additional vehicles cause congestion and restrict access to the site which is shared by three other firms.
David Sayers said he agreed that the site could only accommodate six vehicles and trailers, but there would never be that number parked there.
For the county, Cohn Lynas said it had been informed by the police that four vehicles and trailers were
regularly parked in Station Yard. Their vehicles had been parked overnight in Leeming Village, Thirsk and York.
The parish council had objected on road safety grounds. and the county's education officer had expressed concern about vehicles manoeuvring near a school entrance.
David Sayers said the company previously had depots at Catterick and Darlington, but they were unsatisfactory because of additional fuel costs. It moved to Station Yard once the fleet was reduced to cope with work falling away because of EEC milk quotas and the Milk Marketing Board using its own vehicles.
Adjourning the hearing, Whalley said he realised that it was difficult for the company to specify where the vehicles were normally parked overnight.
But he was not prepared to reach a decision until he had obtained more information about the location of the vehicles when they were not in use. The legislation required each vehicle to have an operating centre specified on the licence.