Call for action after taxi appeal delayed

2:48pm Thursday 28th August 2008

Court action which could lead to a Keighley taxi firm being forced off the road has been put off again for three months.

In the wake of the latest adjournment a leading councillor has attacked the delays as unacceptable. Cllr Andrew Mallinson wants tough action to stop 1st Choice operating as a private hire company.

He also called for a Bradford Council clampdown on suspected rogue taxi firms across the district.

Ist Choice, based in Church Street, is allegedly flouting conditions of its licence issued by Bradford Council.

The council claims 1st Choice allows people to walk into its office to book taxis despite its licence allowing only phone bookings.

In council documents seen by the Keighley News, drivers allegedly hinder local businesses, park indiscriminately and are aggressive to rival taxi firm Metro Keighley. The report also records police concern that if the allegations are true then 1st Choice's 30 drivers could be driving without insurance.

Bradford Council initially closed down 1st Choice in May, this year, for breaching conditions of its planning permission. The firm immediately appealed and the council allowed the firm to reopen pending the outcome of the appeal at magistrates' court.

Since then the case has been adjourned several times - the latest last Wednesday - and is due to be dealt with in November.

Craven Cllr Mallinson, Bradford's former regeneration chief and a leading light of Keighley Transport Watch, said the delays were "ridiculous".

He said: "It's right and proper there's an appeal process to go through. This whole issue about taxi enforcement has been rumbling for years and it's time we clamped down and ensured operators were operating legally."

In May, at the time of the initial 1st Choice closure, Keighley police inspector Mark Allsop compiled a report on the firm's activities. He said police had received numerous complaints about 1st Choice, including alleged harassment, anti-social behaviour, parking and obstruction.

In the report Insp Allsop said: "Reports have also been received that 1st Choice have been using a telephone booking office as a general walk-in office and collecting passengers which due to private hire regulations would lead to the drivers using their vehicles without insurance and hence lead to public safety issues and concerns."

Azad Khan Yousef, 1st Choice's boss, has strongly denied claims his firm was acting improperly. He insisted the firm had public liability insurance and all his drivers had their own insurance to use their vehicles as taxis.

He said: "Bradford Council and Metro are determined to shut us down. They are making false allegations. We park in our yard. We will not park outside during the day during business hours.

"We have no signposts outside our office, nothing to say where we are. People still knock on our door but we say they have to phone us up."

John Blackburn, the council's assistant transportation director, said the council had repeatedly tried to clamp down on 1st Choice.

It resisted the original planning application for the office but was overturned by the Government's Planning Inspectorate.

The council then imposed conditions when it gave the operator's licence, including 1st Choice keeping its office door locked at all times.

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