Consultation on proposed Taxi Licensing Policy
We are consulting on a revised Taxi Licensing Policy. This sets out the standards and requirements for the licensing of hackney carriage drivers, private hire drivers, vehicles and operators within Chelmsford district.
We have developed the proposed policy following a comprehensive review of the existing policy. When developing the policy, we took into account:
legislative changes
Department for Transport statutory guidance
operational experience
best practice
The proposed changes seek to:
strengthen public safety and safeguarding
modernise licensing requirements
improve consistency in decision making
ensure the policy remains effective and legally robust
The consultation is open for six weeks.
Consultation documents
Can you download and view:
Have your say
We welcome comments from anyone with an interest in taxi and private hire licensing.
In particular, we are consulting with:
licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers
licensed vehicle proprietors
licensed private hire operators
Essex Police
neighbouring licensing authorities
disability representative organisations
safeguarding partners
relevant council services
members of the public;
any other interested organisations or individuals
Your comments may relate to the policy as a whole or to individual sections.
You should include the relevant paragraph number where possible to assist us in considering your comments.
How to respond
You have until Monday 24 August 2026 to submit your response.
You can submit your comments:
by email to licensing@chelmsford.gov.uk
by post to: Licensing Team, Chelmsford City Council, Civic Centre, Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1JE
What happens next?
Once the consultation has closed, we will consider all responses that we receive.We will report a summary of the consultation responses, together with any proposed amendments to the draft policy, to the Regulatory Committee. The Regulatory Committee will make the final decision on adoption of the revised Taxi Licensing Policy.