Compromise over licence bid
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• Wixey Transport and its immediate neighbour reached a compromise over the firm's bid for additional vehicles and trailers, after being told life "was a compromise" by West Midland Deputy Traffic Commissioner Alan Bourlet. Linda and Paul Wixey, trading as Wixey Transport, of Whitehill Cottage, Oxhill, near Warwick, had applied to add four vehicles and four trailers to their existing licence for 10 vehicles and five trailers. The operating centre was a former farm and there W1:15 a representation from the occupant of the former farmhouse, Parker Smith.
Paul Wixey told a Birmingham public inquiry they were seeking an increase as there was not currently a margin on the licence. He had sufficient work to put two additional vehicles on the road.
"We don't want to get too big," he said. "We don't want to be an Eddie Stoba
Wixey said customer demands meant their vehicles often had to leave as early as 06:00hrs, and sometimes as early as 05:30hrs. Wixey said they had planted trees to screen the site and a new workshop had been built as far away from their neighbours as possible. He added that they kept the site as clean and tidy as
they could, and all new vehicles were fitted with air suspension and air brake silencers.
Wixey agreed the firm was operating outside a planning condition restricting operations to between 08:00 and 1 8:00hrs. He said they could only do what their customers allowed them to do.
Seventy-five-year-old Smith said he and his 76-year-old wife had lived at the farmhouse for 22 years and there was daily disturbance from Wixey's vehicles.
His main complaints were the fork-lift truck, pallet repairing, early starts, and in the winter engines left running to warm up.
Wixey said the pallet repairing operation, which had been carried out by his brother, had stopped. He added that the firm had looked at an electric fork-lift truck but would need to change the electricity supply.
Indicating that he was considering imposing time restrictions on the licence, Bourlet suggested there be a short adjournment to see if the parties could reach a compromise.
Following discussions, it was agreed that the application would be modified to an additional Iwo vehicles and four trailers; that the firm would undertake to change to an electric fork-lift truck within three months; and that vehicles would be banned from leaving before 06:00hrs.