Neighbours oppose licence application
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• A bid for a new national licence for six vehicles and two trailers by Simon Evans, trading as Evans Haulage, of Ash, will be refused following opposition from Surrey County Council and neighbours.
However, South Eastern & Metropolitan LA Brigadier Michael Turner is allowing Evans' interim authority to operate from his present base for two months to enable him to find a new operating centre.
At a Guildford public inquiry the residents complained about excessive noise and fumes from the yard at Ash Street, which Evans shares with other companies. William Brown said he and his wife suffered from asthma and were forced to keep their windows closed.
County Council engineer Dominic Forbes said they opposed the application on environmental and highway grounds. The site was in a mainly residential area.
It was unsuitable for heavy vehicles, which were a visual intrusion for the residents Vehicles sometimes reversed into the site and he feared an accident could be caused by a lorry entering or leaving the yard_ Evans said he now only wanted to operate two tippers; not the six vehicles and two trailers originally applied for. He was prepared to restrict his operations to 06:3016:30hrs Mondays to Fridays, to 06:3013:00hrs on Saturdays, and to restrict the number of journeys in Turner: Granted and out to interim authority. four a day.
The residents said that this was not acceptable as they were still concerned about the early morning start.
Evans said he had used the site since late 1994. He strongly disputed that there was any road safety hazard, saying the visibility from the cab was very good when leaving the yard.
He denied that cars drove at more than 30mph—their speeds were restricted by bends in the road. He did not believe a car was likely to collide with the rear of a truck entering the yard.
Adjourning the hearing for two months, but indicating that he did not propose to grant the application, Turner said he was extremely concerned about the danger of vehicles reversing into the premises. He had also taken account of recent guidelines issued in regard to sight lines at the access point.