The 10-year age cap due to hit Broadland's 682 private hire cars in April 2027 would be replaced by a Euro 5 test. The zero emission target slips to 2035.

A rule that would have forced Broadland’s older taxis off the road from next April looks likely to be scrapped before it ever takes effect.

The council’s current policy says vehicle licences “will not be renewed once a vehicle is over 10 years of age from the date of first registration”, and that the change is “effective from 1 April 2027”. That is in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Policy and Conditions adopted in 2022.

A draft replacement drops it. Under the new wording, from 1 April 2027 the council “will only renew Vehicles which meet Euro 5 standard”, and vehicles below Euro 5 “will be considered for re-licensing after 1 April 2027 at Authorised Officer discretion”. Age stops being the test. Emissions become it.

The council says so plainly in its own assessment. The change is “likely to be less onerous and potentially less costly than the current requirement based on a specified age limit”.

The draft goes to Broadland’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee on Thursday 10 September, at 10am in the Wroxham Room at the Horizon Centre, Peachman Way, NR7 0WF. The committee is being asked to agree an eight week public consultation, expected to run from October to December.

The zero emission target slips five years

The report’s own schedule of changes describes one of them only as an “amended date for implementation for all new vehicles to be ultra-low or zero emission in line with current Government targets”. The two documents show what that means.

The 2022 policy says it is the council’s aim that all newly licensed vehicles, other than renewals, will be ultra-low or zero emission from 1 April 2030. The draft moves that to 1 April 2035.

That is a five year delay, and it is not spelled out anywhere in the report’s plain English summary of what the changes will mean.

Broadland has the biggest licensed fleet in Norfolk, and no taxis at all

Department for Transport figures published on 13 August put Broadland ahead of every other Norfolk district for licensed vehicles.

The district had 682 licensed vehicles in 2026, against 652 in Norwich and 353 in Great Yarmouth. It also had 827 driver licences and 52 private hire operator licences, according to table TAXI0113.

Every one of those 682 is a private hire vehicle. Broadland licenses no hackney carriages. A private hire vehicle must be booked through an operator and cannot be hailed in the street or picked up from a rank, so in practice there is nothing in the district to flag down. Norwich, by contrast, licenses 119 hackney carriages.

The fleet has also grown fast. It stood at 401 vehicles in 2022 and 653 in 2024.

Only 54 of the 682 can carry a wheelchair, about one in thirteen.

What else would change

The draft policy runs to 115 pages, and the council’s own schedule of changes runs to 86 numbered items. The ones a driver or a passenger would notice:

  • the minimum age for a new driver falls from 21 to 18
  • vehicles must have at least four doors, up from three
  • vehicle proprietors must supply a Basic DBS certificate every year
  • faults and advisories noted on the MOT or the council mechanical test must be fixed within two months
  • proprietors must inspect the vehicle inside and out every day, complete a council checklist and keep it for three months
  • “starlight” headliners would not be permitted in any licensed vehicle
  • the requirement to carry a fire extinguisher in limousines and executive hire vehicles is removed, “in line with guidance”
  • private hire vehicles could not display the word “Taxi” anywhere, including inside an email address shown on the car
  • operators would have to report incidents within 48 hours instead of seven days
  • operators would have to monitor drivers’ hours in line with the Working Time Directive
  • a sole trader operator would have to appoint a manager and a deputy manager

The penalty points scheme sits behind all of it. Nine points inside any twelve month period triggers an automatic review of whether the holder is still a “fit and proper” person to hold a licence. Displaying the word “Taxi” on a private hire car is worth three of them.

On accessibility, the draft sets a minimum wheelchair space for the first time: 1200mm front to back, 750mm across and 1350mm of height. Ramps must be at least 750mm wide, must not be dual channel, and must work onto both the road and a 125mm kerb. Powered lifts must take 300kg and still operate by hand in a power cut.

The 5 year limit on the age of a vehicle when it is first licensed is unchanged.

What it means for you

If you drive or own a licensed vehicle in Broadland, the deadline you have been planning for has probably moved. Nothing is decided yet, though. The committee is only being asked to release the draft for consultation on 10 September.

  • The consultation is expected to run for eight weeks, from October to December 2026.
  • The council says it will go to all current licence holders, district councillors, parish and town councils, and organisations representing the trades and passengers.
  • Responses go back to the same committee before the final version is put to full Council.
  • The new policy is proposed to take effect on 1 April 2027, the same date the old age limit was due to start.

If you are a passenger, the change worth watching is the accessibility section, because the district has 54 wheelchair accessible vehicles for a population the council’s own draft puts at 138,000. The council keeps a list of them on its website under section 167 of the Equality Act 2010.

The agenda, the full 127 page report and the draft policy are all published on the council’s committee papers site.

More Broadland travel and council information: roadworks and travel, parking in Broadland, train times to London and council tax bands.