Agenda item

(Director of Corporate Support Services) To consider the attached report.

The Committee considered the latest report updating them on the need and location of new taxi ranks in the district. At their last meeting in April 2012 they had considered an initial report and asked for a more detailed report on proposals for taxi ranks within the District to be brought to a special meeting in August.

The Committee noted the outcome of the consultation undertaken. They also noted that after the April meeting, Licensing Officers contacted the owners of any private land that was identified as a potential taxi rank and the highway authority in respect of any areas which were public highway.

The Committee considered the five supermarkets that had agreed to enter into further discussions with this Authority prior to the land being used as a taxi rank. The supermarkets were:

• Tesco’s stores, Epping;
• Marks & Spencer, Loughton;
• Sainsbury’s, Loughton;
• Waitrose, Buckhurst Hill; and
• Sainsbury’s, Ongar.

They noted that the parking areas next to supermarkets were usually owned by the supermarkets concerned and as it was private land the consent of the land owners must be obtained prior to the land being used as a taxi rank. The consultation determined that the majority of people were in favour of having taxi ranks put in.

After discussing the merits of having taxi ranks in supermarkets, the Committee agreed they were in favour of letting officers proceed with negotiating on the placing of ranks in the supermarket areas which the Committee considered should be progressed.

The Committee then considered the placing of ranks at local stations and on the public highway. They noted that some stations owned the land concerned while others adjoined the public highway, therefore the agreement of the highways authority was needed and a traffic order had to be made. Officers had met with representatives from the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) to discuss whether Essex County Council would agree to permit taxi ranks to be constructed on the highway and what would be NEPP’s requirements.  The following locations had been identified as possible rank locations:

• Epping High Street outside Barclays Bank;
• Loughton Station;
• Loughton High Street;
• Debden near Churchill Public House; and
• Waltham Abbey on the service road at the rear of the Co-operative.

It was noted that NEPP had about 52 other traffic proposals to consider and that the establishment of taxi ranks would be low on their priority list, with safety schemes taking precedent. A way forward would be we could employ the partnership on our behalf and pay for the work ourselves. This would need a Cabinet commitment for funding.

As a general point, it was noted that the Licensing section would enforce the use of the ranks and the highways agency would look after maintenance of the sites.

The Committee considered the proposed site at Debden and noted that that area was currently under development and this may well affect the site of any ranks. The Committee agreed that this site should not be pursued at present due to the uncertainty of the current development.

It was noted that the area around Loughton Station was publically owned and although it did have a rank it was not an official one as yet. The council would have to advertise the works and draw up a road traffic order. If, as seems likely the council would have to finance these schemes itself, then it was very probable that nothing would happen this financial year. The Committee agreed it needed to decide what it wanted and to put in place long term plans. They would have to look at each scheme in more detail and decide what they were going to ask Cabinet to finance. Clarification on costs for each site was therefore also needed.

One possible way forward was to ask that the Supermarkets pay for the works themselves as it was on their land and that our officers provide all the help and advice that they could. This should be a general principal for any development proposed on all private property and not just for supermarkets.

            RESOLVED:

(1)               That the progress made on the consultations be noted;

(2)               That the Senior Licensing Officer be instructed to proceed with negotiations with the following supermarkets:

·         Tesco’s Stores, Epping;

·         Marks and Spencer’s, Loughton;

·         Sainsbury’s Loughton;

·         Waitrose, Buckhurst Hill; and

·         Sainsbury’s, Ongar

with a view to supporting them to help them establish a taxi rank on their land at their own expense.

(3)               That the following areas be further researched and costed with the help of North Essex Parking Partnership to enable a detailed financial case to be put to the Cabinet:

·         Epping High Street, outside Barclays Bank;

·         Loughton Station;

·         Loughton High Street, by the green near ‘Luxe’s’ nightclub; and

·         Waltham Abbey, on the service road at the rear of the Co-operative.

(4)        The Committee agreed that they did not have any other areas they wished to consider at the present.