Cameron runs against time
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• The three-vehicle licence held by West Kilbridebased Gilmour Cameron was suspended for two weeks by the Scottish Deputy Traffic Commissioner Richard McFarlane after Cameron admitted breaching a timing condition.
In addition, the Deputy TC' refused an application to increase the authorisation from three to four vehicles but he did agree to some relaxation of the timing condition.
Traffic examiner David Deacon told a Largs public inquiry the tacho records for March and April showed Cameron's vehicles were regularly leaving early and returning late.
Two residents complained about visual intrusion and noise from engines starting up. One produced video evidence from a security camera trained on the operating centre. They felt the value of their properties was being affected, and said Cameron's vehicles were damaging local public roads.
Following a site visit, the Deputy Commissioner said he did not consider the movement of the vehicles at the times complained about affected the representors. And he did not feel the operating centre had an adverse environmental effect on the area. He considered that the use of the security camera verged on the intrusive.
McFarlane said that given the distance between the operating centre and the representors' properties, he did not consider the presence of the vehicles constituted a significant visual intrusion. There was no evidence that starting the vehicles woke people or interfered with communication or the representors' ability to hear televisions and radios.
Property values were not a relevant concern for a Traffic Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner said, and he pointed out that matters to do with the public road were matters for the local authority. He was not prepared to remove the operating centre from the licence, which was clearly what the representors wanted.