Concerns raised as Uber granted Fife licence after objections ruled invalid

A Fife councillor has asked if lessons could be learned after a controversial meeting which saw Uber granted an operating licence after more than 400 objections were ruled to be invalid.

Kirkcaldy North councillor Carol Lindsay is a member of Fife Council’s Regulations and Licensing Committee who were asked to make a ruling on the application on Tuesday.

She has since raised concerns over how the situation arose and how the objections were dealt with.

“Whatever the eventual outcome of an application, everyone should be able to have confidence that the process used to reach it was clear, robust, transparent and fair,” she said.

“My concern is about whether there are lessons for Fife Council in how we administer complex licensing applications and support both members of the public and councillors through that process.”

Cllr Lindsay said the committee was advised that determining the competency of the objections was a matter for them to decide.

She said the experience had raised wider questions about whether members had been provided with sufficient factual information to make that determination and whether potential issues surrounding the objections could have been identified earlier in the process.

“Today was not about whether I agreed with the applicant or with the people who had submitted objections,” she said.

“As a member of a regulatory committee, my responsibility is to approach an application impartially and make decisions on the evidence and the law.

“What concerned me was that we were being asked to determine whether a very substantial number of objections met the necessary legal requirements, while we were also told that there had not been sufficient time to carry out individual checks because of the volume involved.

“If there are capacity issues in processing applications, this should have been raised long before we were advised today.

“If the decision on competency rests with councillors, then members need the factual information and administrative groundwork necessary to make that decision confidently.”

The Regulation and Licensing Committee ruled out a total of 431 representations against the application for premises in Rosyth after solicitor Kevin Clancy, who was acting for Uber, stated that none of the objections which has been published in council papers were competent.

He explained that under legislation, they needed to specify the grounds of the objection, specify the names and addresses of objections and be signed.

This resulted in committee convener, Councillor Tom Adams, moving that the objections be disregarded which resulted in the application going through unopposed.

Cllr Lindsay said the situation raised a “legitimate question” about preparation.

“With such a significant number of objections having been received, was their competency considered during the preparation and agenda planning process and, if so, could these issues have been identified earlier rather than emerging through a procedural legal challenge at the hearing?” she said.

“There is also a wider issue about public confidence. People who take the time to participate in a statutory council process should understand what is required of them and should be able to have confidence that what they submit will be properly processed.

“Where an objection meets the statutory requirements, people should have the opportunity for their views to form part of the proper decision-making process.

“Equally, councillors need to be able to distinguish fact from assertion, fact from myth, and relevant evidence from matters which cannot legally influence our decision.

“We can only do that effectively when the information and appropriate professional advice are available to us.”