Tribunal Reserve Decision in Walker Appeal
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THE Transport Tribunal on Tuesday said it could give no decision on an appeal by H. L. Walker, Ltd., of Thornaby-on-Tees, against a part refusal by the Northern Licensing Authority. Walker's had asked for a special A licence to be varied to an open A licence for an articulated vehicle of 2 tons 13 cwt. with a trailer of 3 tons 12 cwt.
The Licensing Authority granted an A licence for an articulated outfit of total unladen weight of 4 tons 11 cwt., the trailer not to exceed 25 ft. in length and the total length not to exceed 35 ft.
The appeal was opposed by Sunter Brothers, Ltd., and Siddle Cook, Ltd., both represented by Mr. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw, and the B.T.C., represented by Mr. J. M. Timmons.
Mr. J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon (for Walker's) tokl the Tribunal: "It is my submission that the Licensing Authority fell into grievous error in this matter." Mr. Samuel-Gibbon said the only traffic in issue was what was called "long length metal traffic." There was a need for the service in this field provided by H. L. Walker, who used the articulated vehicle and trailer for the purpose. The Licensing Authority, under a complete misapprehension, had decided that the traffic should not have been carried by Walker's and granted a licence pre venting the appellants from doing so. "It is a strange decision," he said.
Mr. Campbell Wardlaw said that before the application to the Licensing Authority, Walker's licence had specified the weight of the vehicle as 2 tons 12 cwt. and the trailer as 1 ton 18 cwt.
These limitations should govern the weight submitted by further licences. The Licensing Authority had been perfectly justified in this decision.
On Monday, before making their decision, the Tribunal president, Sir Hubert Hull, said he had learnt that the licence Walker's had asked the Tribunal to vaxy, had expired.
Sir Hubert said the Tribunal had probably been wasting time because it could not vary an expired licence. Nor could it vary a new licence, issued after expiry of the old one, as it was not the subject of the appeal.
If the Tribunal had been giving a binding decision it would have sent the case back to the Licensing Authority for him to hear the fullest evidence on the need for Walker's service in "long length traffic.". He added that although it was the practice in the Northern area for trailer weights to be specified on A licence, this could not have the effect of limiting the weight of trailer a haulier might wish to use.