Britrox site unsanctioned
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• A licence held by Daventrybased Britrox is to finish early at the end of July because of the use of an unauthorised operating centre.
The company was first granted an international licence for three vehicles and trailers just over a year ago. Eastern deputy Licensing Authority Humphrey Lewis warned the firm then that if it wanted to continue in business it would have to apply for a new licence for its operating centre. This would have to be properly advertised — a process taking about 10 weeks.
At the recent disciplinary proceedings before Lewis, vehicle examiner John Russell said when he had visited the company's declared operating centre, he had been told it did not operate from there. He had had great difficulty in communicating with the company in order to do a maintenance investigation as the address for the registered office had been a convenience address used by a number of firms.
Russell said he had paid a visit to a new operating centre — the premises of a plant hire company — and the maintenance records showed the vehicles were now being regularly inspected by the local MAN agent about every four weeks, A vehicle presented for an annual test the same day, however, failed on three items.
Director and company secretary Michael Roberts said it had been using the operating centre since December. The previous operating centre had been virtually useless as there were no facilities there — just an open piece of land.
Roberts maintained that he had notified the LA of the change by telephone but agreed no variation application had been made to authorise its use. He said the vehicle examined in February had been given a prohibition after it failed a roiling road brake test, something the company did not have access to. It had spent more than .27,000 on the vehicle in 12 months and it had been checked in a garage for ; pre-MOT inspection.
Directing that the licence should finish at the end of July Lewis said the company wouk not be permitted to operate any vehicle under the current licence after that date.
If operators changed operat ing centres without notice, licensing became a nonsense. There had been a complete fai Lure to abide by the law in regard to operating and he fount it hard to believe that this was due totally to ignorance.
He was also concerned abot the standard of maintenance oi the firm's vehicles.