A company which was suspected to have been set up as a front for a previously disqualified operator had its licence revoked, after having requested and subsequently declined to attend a public inquiry
At a public inquiry (PI) held in Golborne on 3 June, UK Commercial Transport Services Ltd, trading as Hit the Road (O-licence number PC2069397) and based at Hill Farm near Nantwich, had its licence revoked with immediate effect. In his decision published on 16 July, Traffic Commissioner for the North West of England David Mullan set out the details of the case and his conclusions.
UK Commercial Transport Services Ltd (UKCTS) held a Standard International PSV Operator’s licence authorising three vehicles. The company was incorporated in October 2023 and its O-licence was granted on 18 January 2024. At that time the sole Director was named as a Mr Thomas Andrew Martin Matthias, with a Mr Mohammad Zia-Ul-Haque named as Transport Manager. The licence had a single operating centre, recorded as being at Hill Farm in Broomhall, Nantwich, and preventative maintenance inspections were to be carried out by external contractor Commercial & Plant of Sandbach and internally by Ashley Wright, at six-weekly intervals.
Area of concern
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner was notified on 18 September 2024 that a Mr Christopher James Jackson had been appointed as a Director of the company, though the Traffic Commissioner found that Companies House records actually showed that Mr Jackson had been appointed to that role some five months beforehand, on 2 April.
The appointment of Mr Jackson was deemed significant as he had previously been the sole Director of Yellow Travel Wrexham Ltd, which traded as Time2Travel, a company which held a Standard National Operator’s licence authorising the use of one vehicle. That licence was revoked with effect from 5 July 2023 following a public inquiry which followed an unsatisfactory DVSA maintenance investigation. At the same time, a direction was given by the presiding Traffic Commissioner at that PI that the operator was to be disqualified for a period of two years, ending on 5 July 2025. As a result, Mr Jackson’s history was deemed to be such that he may not have been granted an O-licence, and, as TC Mullan noted, certainly not without having to appear before a Traffic Commissioner; he also expressed concern that given the timeframes between the revocation of Yellow Travel, and the incorporation of UKCTS the new business could be a front for Mr Jackson to resume operations.
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