DRAKE GRANTED EIGHT
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Oo Wednesday at Plymouth, when the Western Licensing Authority heard an application by Drake Carriers Ltd., Plymouth, to add eight vehicles to their A-licensed fleet of 39 operating within 250 miles and carrying goods of all classes and descriptions, an original list of 20 objectors was reduced to two.
A number of the objections had been withdrawn after Drake Carriers had given an assurance that the additional vehicles were required for their own customers' traffic and there was no intention of abstracting traffic from other contractors.
The two objectors at the inquiryPickfords Ltd. and Coastal Roadways Ltd.—both withdrew midway through the hearing after Mr. T. M. Bartleet, representing the applicants, had agreed to the insertion of the words "excluding household removals" in the normal user. Mr J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon, the LA, then granted the application.
Mr. Arthur J. Norfolk, manager of Drake Carriers, said his company's last increase in vehicles was five years ago. He produced working figures to show a 25 per cent increase in gross receipts from January, 1964 to September, 1965. On the basis of these figures the vehicles in the company's fleet were shown to be more than fully engaged.
To cope with the work the company had to introduce a night loading system to enable the vehicles to be on the road as long as possible during the day.