Licence granted despite concerns • A West York shire company
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has been granted a licence despite the financial difficulties of a previous company with which it had links. But North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Keith Waterworth warned that if it failed to pay vehicle excise duty, he would have no hesitation in revoking the licence.
Shelby Storage, of Bradford, was applying for a new nationVehicle Excise Duty: Cheques al licence for six vehicles and were dishonoured.
eight trailers at a Leeds public inquiry. The TC was concerned about the history of director Warren Smith, who was refused a licence last year after he failed to provide sufficient evidence of financial resources.
Vehicle examiner Alvin Lindsay said the company was linked to Warren Smith Transport, whose vehicles had attracted two immediate and three delayed prohibitions. During an unannounced check in February he examined one vehicle and one trailer, issuing one defect notice. There were no maintenance records available since November 1997 and those that existed showed the inspection period had been extended to 10 weeks. Smith had told him he had sacked his mechanic in January for poor workmanship. The maintenance was now contracted out and if the systems in place were followed Lindsay did not expect any further maintenance problems. Smith said it had been decided to put the two businesses into one company, Shelby Storage. All the vehicles were currently taxed and there had been no VED problems since June 1997. Conceding that he had got into financial difficulties, Smith said the other director, Andrew Hillas, had come in to bale the busi ness out. After Smith had said that his bankruptcy had now been annulled, the Commissioner said the financial details submitted by Hillas were satisfactory. However, he would require audited accounts by the end of the year. Waterworth pointed out that last summer he had proposed revoking the Warren Smith licence because cheques in payment of VED had been dishonoured. However, Smith had asked for a public inquiry and one of Waterworth's deputies had taken a more lenient view, suspending four vehicles for a period of three weeks. For the company, Gary Hodgson said the VED problems occurred when Smith was operating under his own steam. He had been punished for that and it had hit him hard.
Waterworth said the previous unacceptable activities had been dealt with at the last public inquiry and he was satisfied that the new company met the required standards.