Colne taxi rank is saved as council bosses do U-turn
10:39am Thursday 7th July 2011
Council bosses are set to perform a U-turn on plans to close a taxi rank in Colne just a month after making the decision.
On June 9 councillors in Pendle decided to revoke the hackney carriage rank at the bottom of Albert Road.
They said it was not well used and that taxis were parking on the opposite side of the road, outside The Venue, to pick up and drop off passengers.
But now the rank is to stay in place after it was found to be busier than first thought.
Jackie Allen, of Pendle Council, said: “Initially when the rank was implemented, it was not being used and consideration was being given to it being revoked."
“However, when The Venue opened across the road the rank started to be used, especially at weekends, and has now become very popular."
“The only hackney carriage or private hire vehicles which park outside The Venue are ones which have been pre-booked or are dropping customers off.
"Many customers leaving The Venue do walk across the road to the hackney carriage rank."
“The Albert Road hack-ney carriage rank is well used by the trade and customers of The Venue and other surrounding areas.”
Mohammed Ilyas, chairman of Pendle Hackney Carriage Association, said: “After 8pm the taxis always stop there and pick people up."
“If we are allowed to stay there it will be good news for me and the other drivers.”
The rank is used by taxis from 8pm to 1am and cannot be used during the weekend of the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival.
Current signage indicates that members of the public may park in the lay-by when it is not a taxi rank, but they are restricted between the hours of 8am and 6pm on Monday to Saturday to a time limit of one hour.
Source; http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/ne ... do_U_turn/
Login
Register
FAQ
