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Transport Tribunal Decisions

30th June 1961, Page 55
30th June 1961
Page 55
Page 55, 30th June 1961 — Transport Tribunal Decisions
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London Fish Merchants Win 14-vehicle Appeal

I N London on Monday, the 'transport Tribunal granted the London Wholesale Fish Trade (Billingsgate), Ltd., B licences for 14 vehicles to carry fish from London railheads to Billingsgate and empty boxes on return.

The Tribunal were giving a reserved decision on the company's appeal against a decision of the Metropolitan Licensing Authority which allowed them only seven vehicles.

The chairman, Sir Hubert Hull, said the company was a subsidiary of the London Fish Merchants Association (Billingsgate), Ltd., whose members were all wholesale fish merchants in the Billingsgate area.

Objectors to the original application were the B.T.C., and "the real protagonists," E. Goldsmidt, Ltd. The inquiry was held on December 12 last year.

The facts to justify the application, said Sir Hubert, were few and not really in dispute. For some years before July, 1960, the Billingsgate merchants' requirements for carriage of fish were met by three undertakings, British Railways carriage services, Goldsmidt's, and Oldham's Transport, Ltd.

Ihe division of traffic between them was shown in figures produced for 1959. Some 81,000 tons of fish were carried, British Railways taking 42,000 tons, Goldsmith's 17,000 tons, and Oldham's 22,000.

In July, last year, Oldham's informed the Association that they had decided to discontinue carrying into Billingsgate. They agreed to carry provided that every effort was made by the Association to make other arrangements. On December 7, the Association lodged an application for vehicle licences.

The Licensing Authority, said Sir Hubert, was doubtful about the gap Oldham's withdrawal would leave. "We don't think it has been sufficiently proved for us to decide that the gap which required to be filled is less than the part of the traffic which Oldham's was carrying," he said.

In evidence, Oldham's had said they used 13 vehicles regularly and thought 14 were necessary adequately to handle the amount of traffic.

The objectors, concluded Sir Hubert, had completely failed to establish that they could fill the gap which the Oldham withdrawal had left.


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