Taxi drivers showing 'complete disregard' for Ossett residents by blocking their driveways

Wakefield Council's licensing team has started an investigation after numerous complaints about cabbies treating some of the town's streets as parking ranks.

The problems are believed to be centred around Kingsway, part of which is covered by double yellow lines, and Dale Street.

Ossett Conservative ward councillor Nick Farmer said the issues had been going on for "years and years".

"Residents are not happy about it, clearly," he said.

"It's been going on for a long time and it is very frustrating for people.

"It just shows a complete disregard for the people living there."

Despite the council saying it was looking at the problem, Coun Farmer said he felt there was little officers could do to stop it without them patrolling the area 24/7.

"I don't think there's a lot they can do," he added.

"There's so many other schools and parts of the district where there's parking problems that they need to be at.

"I don't really see how they can stamp it out, but what can you do?"

The issue was briefly discussed at the council's licensing committee on Wednesday, where officers detailed enforcement action they'd taken against taxi drivers.

Featherstone's Labour councillor, Dick Taylor said it was important to stress that most private hire drivers were law-abiding citizens.

He said: "I've been quite cheered by the number of taxi drivers who haven't been doing anything wrong.

"In Featherstone, a lot of them have been pulled up for checks and they've been clean and doing nothing wrong.

"That cheers me, rather than always looking on the bad side of things.

"It's nice to know that the vast majority of taxi drivers are doing the right thing."

Local Democracy Reporting Service