12 April (Part 1) - Bexley Cabs
When the new
Bexley taxi office was announced a nearby
mini-cab office said it
was illegal to not use the prefix mini and that planning permission was
essential before a carriage licence could be issued. Doubt was thrown on the
latter by the carriage office so a check was made with Transport for London. Here is their reply…
I can confirm you are correct in saying the use of the word ‘cab’ or ‘cabs’ is
not permitted and does contravene the s.31 1998 Private Hire Act. Any business
advertising a cab service whilst holding a PHV Operator Licence will be required
to remove any reference to such service immediately. Use of such a word, for
instance, ‘cab, ‘cabs’, ‘taxi’ ‘taxis’ or any other word that can be mistaken for
it would not be approved by this office.
In regard to your second point I can confirm there has been a recent change
in licensing requirements for applicants and operators. One change is that an
applicant is now required to provide evidence with all applications that
planning permission is in place at the premises applied for.
Essentially, this business is required to show either…
1) Planning Permission has already been granted
2) Planning permission has been applied for
3) A Certificate of Lawfulness is in place or applied for or
4) a letter from the Local Authority confirming the premises does
not require planning permission.
So now we know. The original use of ‘Cabs’ was wrong and it will be necessary to persuade Bexley council
that planning permission should be given.