Licensing & duties
What is an operating centre?
An operating centre is the place specified on an operator licence where vehicles are normally kept. Using an unauthorised place, even temporarily, is a breach of the licence.
It is specified with a maximum number of vehicles and trailers, so both the location and the capacity are conditions. Exceeding either is a breach regardless of how well maintained the vehicles are.
Applications to add or vary a centre are advertised and can be objected to by local residents on environmental grounds, which is why changing one takes time and planning.
Vehicles parked elsewhere overnight because the yard is full is the classic breach, and it is visible to anybody who looks.
What goes wrong in practice
- Overflow parking on a public road or an unauthorised yard.
- Vehicle numbers at a centre exceeding what was specified.
- A new site used before the variation was granted.