LA demands better maintenance
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• Scottish Licensing Authority Keith Waterworth has cut the licence authorisation of Glasgow-based Environ mental Recycling from six vehicles and two trailers, to two vehicles.
He also reduced the licence duration so that it expires in 14 months' time.
Waterworth said that the company needed to demonstrate it had implemented a satisfactory maintenance system before any additional vehicles would be authorised.
Department of Transport vehicle examiner John Agnew said that since the licence had been granted in 1989, four immediate prohibitions for neglect and one delayed prohibition had been issued to the company's vehicles. On two occasions prohibitions were varied for additional defects found when vehicles were produced for clearance. Many of the defects were of long standing, he said.
Managing director Charles Forest said that a vehicle prohibited in June 1989 had been taken over by another director, Stanley Fraser, who had since left the company. He said the prohibition had been Fraser's, although the company's name was on it.
Another of the prohibited vehicles belonged to Environmental Recycling (Dundee) although it was on the licence. The company had never owned any trailers: the vehicle and trailer examined in August had nothing to do with his company, said Forest.
The LA pointed out that the vehicles concerned were specified on the company's licence. He said that Forest could not shuffle vehicles around to avoid his responsibilities. It was Forest's responsibility to ensure that his licence showed the correct position. It was unacceptable if he allowed other people to use vehicles on his licence, Those people were operating illegally and they would be investigated.
Forest said that he and his wife were now the only directors. He said he had been left in the lurch by other people.
The other directors, Fraser and Fraser's father-in-law, had left and were now running their own business. Forest now operated two vehicles and employed a mechanic. He said he was prepared to contract the maintenance out.
Waterworth said that if Forest carried on as he had been doing he was going to lose his licence. He warned that if Forest failed to implement a satisfactory maintenance system in the future, he would take very severe action against the company's licence.