Plan to convert former Harrogate taxi office into flat approved

Plans have been approved to convert the former Airline Taxis office in Harrogate into a one-bedroom flat.

The ground floor offices on East Parade are currently vacant after a liquidator was appointed to wind up the company in June last year.

A director’s report to creditors, signed by Airline’s sole director Mohammad Suleman, said the company experienced a “significant decline” in turnover due to lack of travel during the first covid lockdown.

Harrogate Borough Council has now given the go-ahead for the former office to be converted.

Documents lodged to the authority by applicant Mr T Haillday say that the building will retain its existing features and the same floor area as the taxi company office.

It said:

“The existing building will retain the original features internally which at present have been covered over.

“The existing service door to the side will be reduced in size to house a window for the new bedroom. The external features will all be retained.”

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Plan to convert former Harrogate taxi office into flat

Plans have been lodged to convert the former Airline Taxis office in Harrogate into a one bedroom flat.

The ground floor offices on East Parade are currently vacant after a liquidator was appointed to wind up the company in June last year.

A directors report to creditors, signed by Airline’s sole director Mohammad Suleman, said the company experienced a “significant decline” in turnover due to lack of travel during the first covid lockdown.

Now, plans have been submitted by developer Mr T Halliday to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the offices into a one-bedroom flat.

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Documents lodged to the authority say that the building would retain its existing features and the same floor area as the taxi company office.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Harrogate’s Airline Taxis to be wound-up with £55,000 debts

A liquidator has been appointed to wind-up Harrogate firm Airline Taxis, which has debts totalling £55,000.

Simon Weir, of DSI Business Recovery in Ossett, West Yorkshire, was appointed liquidator on Friday following a meeting of creditors.

Creditors include Tracey Lee, a former telephone operator at the company who won an employment tribunal against the taxi firm in January last year. A judge ordered the company to pay her £25,501.

She is yet to receive a penny and previously described to the Stray Ferret the “horrible” process of trying to get the sum awarded through the courts.

The company’s statement of affairs shows it also owes HSBC bank £20,000 for a bounce-back loan taken out last year.

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A directors report to creditors, signed by Airline’s sole director Mohammad Suleman, said the company experienced a “significant decline” in turnover due to lack of travel during the first covid lockdown.

The report added “there is no prospect of a dividend to any class of creditor”.

It also said Airline employed three staff and the rest were self-employed drivers.

The Stray Ferret contacted Airline Taxis for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

A company called Parade Taxis Limited was created in July last year with the same registered address as Airline Taxis on East Parade. Its sole director is Areefa Naz Suleman, the daughter of Mohammad Suleman.

Harrogate taxi firm begins insolvency proceedings

Harrogate taxi firm Airline Taxis is taking steps to wind up the company.

A meeting of any people or businesses who are owed money by the company will be held via Zoom, on June 16.

Anybody with queries is asked to contact insolvency practitioner Simon Weir on 01924 790880.

The Stray Ferret reported last month how Airline Taxis have refused to pay £25,501 to former employee Tracey Lee after she won an unfair dismissal case against them in June 2020.

A year on from the tribunal she is yet to receive a penny from the taxi firm and described the “horrible” process of trying to get her money back through the courts.

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Meanwhile, a company called Parade Taxis Limited was created in July 2020 with the same registered address as Airline Taxis. Its sole director is Areefa Naz Suleman, the daughter of Airline’s director Mohammad Suleman.

The Stray Ferret contacted Airline Taxis for a response but we did not receive one at the time of publication.

Harrogate taxi firm refusing to pay £25,000 for unfair dismissal

In June 2020, Tracey Lee won an employment tribunal against Airline Taxis after they sacked her in January of last year.

But she has given up hope of ever receiving the £25,501 a judge ordered the company to pay her.

Almost a year on from the tribunal she is yet to receive a penny from the taxi firm and described the “horrible” process of trying to get her money back through the courts.

She said the system is stacked against individuals who have been unfairly dismissed.

The tribunal

Ms Lee worked on the phones for the taxi company, which is based on East Parade on Harrogate, on and off for around three years.

She said the work environment soured due to a change in management and, following a disagreement, she was sacked.

She challenged the decision in an employment tribunal in June 2020, where she was successful.

Airline Taxis failed to turn up to the hearing, but the judge ordered the company to pay Ms Lee £25,501, which included loss of earnings.

She said:

“The way they treated me was diabolical. It’s not fair what they did.”

Money struggles

In July 2020, Ms Lee went to Huddersfield County Court to try and obtain a court order to get her money back.

The court ordered bailiffs to try and recover the money from Airline Taxis. However, they have tried and failed to reclaim money or assets from the company on two separate occasions, the latest being in March 2021.

In an email sent to Ms Lee, the bailiffs said: “As suspected, there has not been a good outcome to your file” as “there was nothing to levy upon or apply pressure”.

This is because the company has no assets, including its taxis. They are instead in the name of its sole director Mohammed Suleman.

Ms Lee said she was even advised by a solicitor to “not waste any more money” on the case. She is now resigned to not seeing any of the money she is owed.

She said in the months following her dismissal, she struggled to find a new job and went into rent arrears.

“I had to sign on, it was horrible”.

Ms Lee has since found another job in Harrogate but is angry that the company has been able to avoid paying her the money, despite the employment tribunal, county court ruling and visits from bailiffs.

She added:

“The sting in the tail is that they are still trading. It’s disgusting. They are driving around like they don’t have a care in the world.”

The Stray Ferret asked Airline Taxis to respond but we did not receive a reply.