Vehicle For Caravan-towing Refused
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HE towing of outsize mobile caravans 1 over long distances by road may present a problem in the future, but for the moment transport contractors can cope.
That was the view expressed at Cheltenham last week by Mr. C. J. Macdonald, sitting for the Western Licensing Authority, when he considered an application by Mr. W. J. Thomas, of Cheltenham, to add one articulated vehicle (5 tons 12 cwt.) to a B licence for the carriage of caravans and boats picked up within a radius of 10 miles of operating centre for delivery, any distance and vice versa. The application was opposed by Beech of Cardiff, Ltd., British Railways and J. Blackstone, of Hereford.
The applicant told the Authority he had handled 50 caravans in the last six months, but he had no evidence as to the number of caravan owners who had asked for his assistance in regard to transport.
Mr. Thomas Sheppard, a caravan dealer. supporting the application, said Mr. Thomas had given him every satisfaction hitherto. If he had had any difli culty he would have approached one or other of the objectors—if he had known of their existence.
A solicitor acting for Mr. Thomas read from a report published recently, purporting to show that business in large caravans was increasing, but Mr. Blackstone, while agreeing that the present trend was towards outsize caravans, said in his opinion it would be wise to wait a while to see how the trend developed before sanctioning more transport. He said he, himself, could handle more work than he had at the moment.
The L.A. held that thc applicant had not shown clearly that there was any need for more transport to move caravans of any size. There had been too much talk about the big caravans of the future ralher than what the actual position was at the moment.
As regards boats, applicant could have a licence to carry these if he wished, but it would be restricted to boats and would not cover caravans. There may come a time when the development of caravans would be affected by the availability of transport, but it was not here yet.