ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING-SOLIHULL-19TH APRIL, 1966

Annual General Meeting

held at Solihull on Tuesday, 19th April, 1966

The Chairman, Mr. D. Hall, welcomed members to the eighth Annual General Meeting and introduced Mr. D. W. Chapman, D.F.M., LLB., Town Clerk of Solihu!l County Borough, and invited him to open the proc~edmgs.

Mr. Chapman expressed great pleasure in the fact that for the second year in succession, the Association's Annual General Meeting was being held in Solihull and that he had again been invited to officiate at the openin~ ceremony.

He stressed the value of getting together to discuss daily problems in administration of the Petroleum Acts, and particularly congratulated the Association on the publica-tion of The Bulletin.

Mr. Beer moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Chapman on behalf of the Association and to the Solihull Council for its hospitality.

The Chairman then referred to the business portion of the Agenda.

Minutes

As there was no comment on the Minutes of the previous Meeting or on matters arising therefrom, the Chairman gave his Report of the work carried out by the Council and various Committees of the Association.

Chairman's Report

Mr. Hall outlined the administrative set-up of the Association, i.e. the setting up of Committees, the promulgation of Standing Orders for the administrative duties of the Council, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Editor. A scale of expenses had been approved by the Council for members travelling on Council Business.

Proceeding, the Chairman spoke of the relationship between the Assoication and Branches; also that the Home Office had promised to consider the Association being represented on one of its Committees.

He said the Council had issued its recommendations for UndergroundCar Parks and went on to inform members that _work was now being done on the preparation of Multi-Storey Car Park Recommendations.

He referred to the over-subscribing by Authorities to the 1965 and 1966 Schools, resulting in many disappointments. He informed members, however, that attempts were being made to arrange two Schools for 1967, one in May and one in October_

Commenting on The Bulletin, he said this was a most" valuable asset of the Association and sincerely congratu-lated the Editor, Mr. R. P. Holdaway, for his work in connection with its publication.

Mr. Hall urged members to initiate Branch formation and to attend Branch Meetings.

Concluding, the Chairman commended the whole of the Council for their unflagging interest in the work of the Association.

Secretary /Treasurer's Report

The Honorary Secretary/Treasurer s1:1bi:nitted his Report on the financial position of the Associat10n.

Arising from the Report, Mr. Beer observed _that the~e was a credit balance of £521, and felt that a port10n of thts should be put into a Derosit A~cou~t. It was agr_eed that the Council should consider this at its next meetmg.

Mr. Beer also commented on the work done .by the Honorary Secretary and moved t_hat a~ honoranum of £50 be paid to the Secretary for his services to the Association. This was agreed.

Election of Chairman

Only one nomination having been re~eived, Mr. E. V. B"eeby (Rugby R.D.C.) was elected Chalfman.

Mr. Beeby (in the Chair) thanked members for his election.

Election of Vice-Chairman

Again, only one nomination having been received, Mr. C. R. Peskett (Godalming M.B.C.) was duly elected.

Election of Officers

The following Officers were also elected:

Hon. Secretary/Treasurer Mr. L. A. Cave

Hon. Liaison Officer Mr. G. N. Dean

Hon. Editor Mr. R. P. Holdaway

Hon. Legal Adviser Mr. P. D. Wadsworth

Election of a Council

The Chairman reminded the meeting that eight members had to be elected at the Annual General Meeting and explained that only seven nominations had been received for the eight vacancies. The following members were then duly elected to the Council:

Mr. J. Beer-Worcester City

Mr. R. L. Bloor-Kidderminster M.B.C.

Mr. M. Gee-Wolverhampton C.B.C.

Mr. H. Griffiths-Walsall C.B.C.

Mr. D. Hall-Newcastle-under-Lyme M.B.C.

Mr. J. W. Hewison-Havant and Waterloo U.D.C.

Mr. R. E. J. Roden-Birmingham City

The Chairman observed that under the terms of the Constitution the remaining vacancy would have to be filled by the Council.

Membership

The Hon. Secretary reported that since the last Annual General Meeting there had been an increase of 80 Loe~! and Harbour Authority members, the total membership being 440.

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Any Other Business ~r. Holdaway referred to the help and encouragement which Mr. D. W. Chapman, Town Clerk of Solihull County Borough, had given to the Association and proposed that he be made an Honorary Member of the Association. Mr. Hall seconded and said he felt that the services Mr. Chapman had rendered merited the honour.

Agreement was unanimous.

Mr. Ainley, Stone U.D.C., proposed a vote of thanks to the Officers for their work during the past year with particular reference to the retiring Chairman, the Hon. Secretary/Treasurer and the Editor of The Bulletin.

Mr. H. Griffiths, Walsall C.B.C., referred to a chart which had been circulated to Chief Fire Officers by the Chemical Division ofShell-Mex Ltd., giving a colour guide for identification of dangerous substances carried on their tankers and suggested that the Hon. Secretary should endeavour to obtain copies for consideration by the Council.

The business then being concluded, the meeting adjourned for lunch.

The meeting re-assembled at 2.30 p.m. under the heading of "Your Questions Answered". The Chairman of the Association introduced members of the panel, which consisted of Messrs. J. Beer (Chairman-Worcester) ; M. Gee (Wolverhampton) ; J. A. Sharp (M.E.B.) and C. A. McDonald (Senior Assistant Solicitor-Solihull).

1. What are the views of the Association on the automatic vending of petroleum spirit ?-Mr. Perry, Staffs. C.C.

Fire Brigade

As expected, a lively discussion ensued on thi~ very topical subject. It was agreed that automatic vendmg or self-service would come to the United Kingdom; the question was whether the time was now opportune. It was felt that whilst certain licensing conditions could be imposed on self-service pumps, enforcement would be extremely difficult. To regulate customers using such pumps also had legal difficulties and the possibility of prosecuting customers for aiding and abetting infringements of licensing conditions was extremely doubtfu.1. Information was given to the meeting on the use of this type of equipment in Western Germany and other parts of the Continent, from which it appeared vandalism was non-existent. The great advantage of this type of pump from the trade angle is the cutting down on labour costs in keeping the filling station in operation throughout 24 hours. !'>- fur!her difficulty raised was the question of petrol bemg mistaken for paraffin, particularly by children who may ?~ sent on an errand. It was agreed that any licensing cond1t1on must ~ela~e to safe-keeping and any applicant who had an apphca~1on for this type of equipment refused by the loc~l authonty could either wait to be prosecuted if he used it and then bring a defence, or could appeal to the Home Office.

The meeting felt that the general concensus of opinion amo.ngst ~nforcem~nt officers was turning towards selfserv1ce com operat1<?n on un~ttended sites, and that there would be no harm m assessmg results of such operation on selected sites. On attended sites, it was considered that sel~-service, providing safeguards are adequate, is perfectly satisfactory.

2. A commercial consumer has applied to install a petrol pump and tank on a site only 40ft. across. An inhabitated building is at least 20ft. away from the tank. Is this site considered a satisfactory one ?-Mr. Gardener,

Mansfield.

The panel felt that it is generally recognised that no p~trol tank or pump should be within 20ft. of any building, highway or flammable substances. This is laid down clearly in the Association's pre-licensing conditions. It is acc:pted, howeve~, that . this distance cannot always be achieved on old sites which are to be improved and it is felt that as the Home Office do not state any figure in the Model Code, a too rigid application of this condition may be unreasonable.

The question was raised how did this arbitrary figure come to be considered initially and it was thought that as the Home Office code requires no smoking and no flammable substances to be within 20ft., this was a reasonable figure. The meeting considered that this 20ft. rule should be judged in each instance on its merits, particularly with regard to improvements to old sites. Every attempt, h?wever, should. be made to obtain compliance of this distance on new mstallations.

3. Is it obligatory to transfer the licence of an old or sub-standard site under the same conditions ?-

Mr. Matthews, Derby.

The panel felt that a local authority could refuse a transfer of licence on the grounds that an installation is ?ut of date, unsatisfactory or unsafe. Members gave mstances where transfers have been refused and owners who have the right of appeal never took advantage of this. In one case where the renewal of the licence of a substandard site was refused the Home Office upheld an appeal, but when the premises were later sold, the Home Office stated that this decision lapsed with the transfer.

4. The question of cash registers was raised, it being suggested that the Association's Code of Practice be relaxed to permit their removal at night-Mr. Staddon,

Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd.

The panel felt that there should be no relaxation and ~ash registers should be rigidly fixed, the reason being that 1f sockets were permitted there was always the danger of a kettle or electric fire being plugged in. There is no objection to cash registers being plugged above 4ft. level provided the switch is flameproof or totally enclosed. lt was agreed that this height is not a practicable one. On the question of using a transformer to limit the current from the socket it was felt that this would not really be effective.

A vote of thanks to the panel was proposed by Mr. Marsden, Eton R.D.C., and thanks to the Solihull Council,. to Mr. Bradbury, Civil Defence Officer, and Messrs. Forman and Dean in making the arrangements and accommodation available for the meeting, was proposed by Mr. Pike, Market Harborough U.D.C.

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