The Licensing and Regulatory Committee are scheduled to meet, and the agenda includes a proposal to move a taxi rank in Farnham, and a review of the minutes of various licensing sub-committees. Some of the items on the agenda may be discussed in private, with the press and public excluded.

Here are the topics that the committee is expected to discuss:

West Street, Farnham Hackney Carriage Stand

The committee is scheduled to discuss a proposal to remove an existing hackney carriage stand in West Street, Farnham and replace it with a new, part-time stand a few steps away.

According to the report pack, the reason for this is:

This proposal is part of the wider redevelopment works to Farnham town centre requiring permanent changes to taxi stands affected by the development.

The proposed new stand would be a combined loading/taxi stand, with the restrictions: Loading Only 8am - 6pm & 'No stopping except taxis' 6pm - 8am , located in front of 2 to 6 West Street.

The report pack indicates that Surrey County Council, as the highways authority, and Surrey Police have already agreed to the plans.

The committee will consider a recommendation to approve the removal of the existing stand and the designation of a new 4-vehicle part-time hackney carriage stand in West Street, Farnham, and to authorise officers to undertake the formal process for designating the stand accordingly.

Licensing Sub-Committee Minutes

The committee is scheduled to note the minutes of several Licensing Sub-Committee meetings:

• Licensing Sub B 13/01/2025
• Licencing GP 10/02/2025
• Licensing GP 31/03/2025
• Licensing GP 12/05/2025
• Licensing Sub C 14/05/2025
• Licensing Sub A 04/07/2025
• Licensing GP 26/08/2025

These minutes include details of licensing decisions made by the sub-committees. For example, the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (General Purposes) held on 10 February 2025 record that the committee considered an application for a private hire driver's licence, where the applicant requested an exemption from the requirement to pass a knowledge test. The committee agreed to accept the application without the test, considering the circumstances set out and the nature of business the applicant would provide. The minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (General Purposes) held on 26 August 2025 record that the committee reviewed a hackney carriage driver's licence and decided to revoke it with immediate effect on public safety grounds, after hearing from a complainant and the driver. The committee were concerned that the driver appeared to have a disregard of the law and of the licensing team, by not reporting points accrued on her licence and by admitting having driven an unlicensed vehicle.

The minutes of Licensing Sub-Committee C on 14 May 2025 record that the committee considered an application for street trading consent from Milford and Witley Ltd, for Church Road, Milford, and agreed to grant street trading consent for a period of a year with standard conditions. The minutes of Licensing Sub-Committee A on 4 July 2025 record that the committee considered an application for renewal of street trading consent for a lay-by south of junction with Elmbridge Road, A281 Horsham Road, Cranleigh, and agreed to grant street trading consent for a period of a year with standard conditions.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The committee is expected to consider a recommendation to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of some items. This is because it is believed that if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined by Section 100l of the Local Government Act 1972¹.