Council defeats appeal by taxi driver over revocation of licence

Guildford Borough Council has successfully defended in the Magistrates’ Court its decision to revoke the licence of a hackney carriage driver.

The council said it had revoked the driver's licence in July 2019 for a number of reasons, “including not having a valid MOT for their vehicle, lack of vehicle maintenance, false declaration, non-compliance with licensing conditions and failure to comply with a statutory notice to return their licence plates”.

Guildford added that it had also received a number of complaints about the appellant’s standard of driving.

The driver appealed the decision but, according to the council, failed to comply with the directions of the Court and serve evidence.

At a hearing at Guildford Magistrates' Court on 4 December, a judge refused the driver's application to adjourn the appeal, and as the driver had presented no evidence, dismissed the appeal.

The driver was also ordered to pay the council's costs of £2,137.

Mike Smith, Licensing Team Leader at Guildford Borough Council, said: "We are pleased that the court dismissed this appeal. We do not take the decision to revoke a licence lightly, but we have a duty to protect public safety and ensure that residents, visitors and those who work in the borough can be confident when they take one of our licensed taxis that their journey will be safe and secure.”