Public Inquiries in Golborne, North West of England Traffic Area
The office of the Traffic Commissioner covering the North West of England Traffic Area is at Stones Cross Place on the outskirts of Golborne near Warrington. Currently the Traffic Commissioner for this area is the Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain, Beverley Bell. Mrs Bell is due to leave her position in the Spring of 2017 so a new Traffic Commissioner will be appointed in the near future.
Public inquiries take place at Golborne in connection with both goods vehicle and passenger vehicle operator licences. Public inquiries are held to consider disciplinary action against operator licence holders where there is evidence that they may have breached the law or the conditions of their licence. They are also called to consider applications for new operators licences or where there is an application to make changes to an existing licence. The vast majority of applications are dealt with without a public inquiry, but problematic ones go to public inquiry for consideration.
You can find out more about the public inquiry process on our page called About Public Inquiries. Basically, a public inquiry is a formal legal hearing set up a bit like a court or tribunal. Evidence, witnesses and legal arguments all take place and a formal legally binding decision is made by the Traffic Commissioner.
The North West of England Traffic Area
The West of England Traffic Area covers a huge area from Derbyshire right up to the Scottish Borders. Included are the counties of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire and Lancashire.
Among the many cities and towns within this area are Blackburn, Darwen, Blackpool, Derby, Halton, Warrington, Lancashire, Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Bolton, Preston, Chester, Crewe, Rochdale, Stockport, Blackburn, Burnley, Kendal, Carlisle and Barrow On Furness.
In total, there are 10670 business licenced to operate goods vehicles and 1,355 licenced to operate passenger vehicles within the North West Traffic Area.
Public Inquiries in Golborne
Nearly all public inquiries in the North West of England Traffic Area are dealt with in Golborne in the special court room there for this purpose. Occasionally they may take place at other venues, but this is rare. The hearings will be heard by the Traffic Commissioner or a deputy Traffic Commissioner.
In the year 2014/2015 there were a total of 138 goods vehicle and 45 passenger vehicle public inquiries in the North West of England Traffic Area.
Of the goods vehicle public inquiries, 93 of them were to consider disciplinary action and 45 for considering applications. 21 of the passenger vehicle public inquiries were for application to be decided and 24 for disciplinary action.
Outcomes of Goods Vehicle (HGV) Public Inquiries in the North West of England
Result of disciplinary public inquiries :
From 93 goods vehicle public inquiries called for disciplinary action, 30, about one third of them, ended with the operators licence being revoked. 11 goods vehicle licences were suspended and 21 were curtailed. Only 4 (less than 5%) resulted in no action taken.
Result of applications heard at public inquiry :
45 applications were dealt with at public inquiries over the course of the year. Eleven of these were refused outright. Some were part granted or granted with conditions attached. Thirty of them were granted in full.
The outcome of passenger vehicle public inquiries in the North West of England
The result of disciplinary public inquiries for passenger vehicle operator licences was as follows:
Out of 21 public inquiries for disciplinary action, 11, about half, ended with the operators licence revoked, 1 was suspended and 3 had their vehicle numbers reduced. Only 1 out of the 21 resulted in no disciplinary sanctions being taken at all.
Result of applications heard at public inquiry :
There were 24 applications dealt with at public inquiry. 10 of these were refused outright, 13 were granted in full.
What to do if you've been called to a public inquiry in Golborne
First of all, recognise that any public inquiry called for any reason is a very serious thing. Secondly recognise that getting legal advice and having an experienced transport law solicitor on your side is at least half of the problem sorted.
A good transport law specialist will be able to get stuck into your case and do all sorts of things to get you ready to face the Traffic Commissioner and come away with a good outcome.
We strongly recommend that you speak to us urgently if you've had a call to public inquiry. Nearly all of our clients (well over 90%) have a successful outcome at their public inquiries.
We regularly handle public inquiries at Golborne and know exactly how to prepare and present a successful case. We've been doing it for years and have helped hundreds of operators through what is always a very difficult and uncertain time.
Your chance of a successful outcome at your public inquiry increases dramatically if you have experienced and skilled legal representation. So choosing a good transport solicitor is of vital importance.
Please call Simon Newman on 01302 775522 or email him on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I will be very glad to talk through your situation and review your papers free of charge to enable you to make an informed decision about what to do.
