The Examiner can today expose a major lack of enforcement of planning permissions which has led to taxi firms parking far more cars than they should outside their premises.
When a Milnsbridge man complained about the number of taxis being operated by a taxi firm near his home, it highlighted a major problem.
Abbey Cars was granted planning permission in February 2000 to operate two private hire vehicles from its base at Savile Street in Milnsbridge.
The firm later tried to double that to four, but was turned down on the grounds of parking and highways safety.
The company is based just around the corner from 58-year-old Alan Jenkinson at Lipscomb Street, Milnsbridge.
He has complained to Kirklees Council for several years that the law was being flouted. Officials investigated, but no action was taken.
Mr Jenkinson has now taken his complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, claiming the council was not enforcing its planning regulations.
His protest has helped to expose a major lack of enforcement which has led taxi firms parking far more cars than they should outside their premises.
The planning arm of the council puts a limit on the number of cars which can operate - but the licensing side allows them to run more.
Owners are warned by licensing staff that the numbers should stick within the planning restriction.
But it is widely flouted by parking the extra cars away from the main office. And unless someone complains, it never comes to light.
Mr Jenkinson said: "The amount of taxis parked on Savile Street and on a lane behind Lipscomb Street is causing congestion and is potentially dangerous.
"There is noise at all times of the day and night.
"On our deeds the terraced properties lease half the width of the lane - but taxis are parked there.
"Sometimes the dustbin lorry can't get down because of the taxis and our bins have been unemptied."
He said the number of taxis run by Abbey Cars had escalated over the years. "There can be around 15 vehicles there at weekends," claimed Mr Jenkinson.
"When the windows are open there can be a lot of noise coming from the office itself. It's a continuous disturbance at busy times."
The problem of planning permissions has surfaced in Huddersfield, but council officials say it is happening nationwide and nothing is being done urgently to solve it.
Such is the confusion in the system that no council officials or councillors will take responsibility by speaking publicly about it.
In a letter to the Local Government Ombudsman in September, Kirklees planner Keiron Dunn - who has now left the authority for a new job - admitted the interpretation of the word "operate" meant Abbey Cars could park as many vehicles outside its office as it wanted, yet could only operate two at any one time.
He also admitted there was a problem with the way two council departments fail to work closely together.
He said: "There is no formal arran- gement whereby Kirklees Licensing check with Planning Services how many vehicles should be in use at a taxi business.
"The Planning Services is currently liaising with Licensing to address this problem, but there is no agreement at present regarding how this process should be formalised."
He said the council tried to take action against Abbey Cars in November 2002, but hit a snag over the wording on the original planning application allowing it to "operate" more than two taxis.
Mr Dunn wrote:
"The council accepts that it would have been better to word the condition so that it restricted the use of private hire vehicles and this is now done with other applications.
"Although the council has tried to take legal action to resolve this matter, it has come to the conclusion there is no prospect of such action preventing the parking of cars on Savile Street."
A spokesman for Abbey Taxis claimed almost all the main taxi firms had planning permission for one or two cars but were running many more - some more than 40.
In September the Examiner revealed that newly-founded Marsh Cars had planning permission for one car, yet was operating 10 from a terraced house at 48 Westbourne Road in Marsh.
The cars were not parked outside the house, but elsewhere in Marsh.
Owner Shahid Parvez has now applied for planning permission for 48 Westbourne Road to become a taxi booking office. But Kirklees planners are recommending councillors reject it at a planning meeting on Thursday.
