Landmark High Court ruling in favour of Stratford District Council

A Judicial Review against Stratford-on-Avon District Council brought by a local taxi company, 007 Taxis Limited, has been dismissed by Birmingham High Court in a landmark case today, Wednesday 9 June.

The Judicial Review was brought to challenge the District Council's Hackney Carriage Vehicle Policy that vehicles registered after 1^st January 2010 should be wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Michelle Baird, Licensing Manager at Stratford District Council said: "Throughout this case the District Council has acted to serve the interests of disabled passengers and improve the District's service for both residents and the districts' annual 5 million visitors alike.  We have sought to improve our current standards to create a more accessible system for disabled passengers who are in wheelchairs.  The changes to the policies were not brought in to create hardship for anyone and I hope that this court case will not upset the good relations that the District Council has as a regulator of the local taxi trade."

• A Judicial Review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
• This Judicial review sought to challenge the way in which a decision has been made and the consultation processes undertaken by the Council before the decision was made. There was no attack on the rationality of the Council's final decision.
• The District Council's Cabinet made the policy changes on 15 December 2008 - http://democracy.stratford.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=485&MId=2514