The Licensing Sub-Committee of City of Edinburgh Council scheduled a meeting to discuss several licensing applications and potential licence suspensions. The councillors were scheduled to consider new and renewed short-term let licences, as well as taxi and private hire car driver licences. They were also scheduled to discuss requests to suspend existing taxi and private hire car licences.

Taxi and Private Hire Car Licences

The committee was scheduled to consider several matters relating to taxi and private hire car licences.

Application for Taxi Driver Licence – Gul Khan

The committee was scheduled to consider an application for a taxi driver licence from Gul Khan. According to the report pack, applicants who have lived outside the UK must provide a criminal record check from the relevant country. Gul Khan had provided a criminal record check from Pakistan, but not from Afghanistan, where he lived until he was 17.

According to the report pack, Gul Khan has been driving a licensed taxi in Edinburgh since at least 2016, which pre-dates the policy on criminal convictions checks. The report notes that in a 2019 renewal application, Gul Khan did not declare his period of residence in Afghanistan. Because Gul Khan has now declared residence in a country without a criminal convictions check, council officers do not have the authority to grant the renewal.

The report pack states that the committee was asked to determine the application and, if granted, attach standard conditions to the licence.

Request for Suspension of Taxi Driver's Licence – Baris Eroglu

The committee was scheduled to consider a request to suspend the taxi driver's licence of Baris Eroglu. According to the report pack, council officers investigated passenger complaints against Mr Eroglu and recommended that the committee consider suspending his licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982¹. The report pack details two complaints against Mr Eroglu:

• Complaint 1: On 22 January 2025, a member of the public complained about Mr Eroglu's aggressive behaviour towards a third party while in charge of a licensed taxi. Council enforcement officers emailed Mr Eroglu about the allegations, and after receiving a response, issued him with a written warning.
• Complaint 2: On 14 May 2025, a member of the public complained about Mr Eroglu's aggressive behaviour towards a customer during a journey in a licensed taxi. After receiving a response from Mr Eroglu, officers decided to refer the matter to the Licensing Sub-Committee for consideration of suspension.

The report pack states that the committee was asked to consider whether Mr Eroglu was still a fit and proper person to hold a taxi driver's licence, and whether a condition of the licence had been breached.

Request for Suspension of Private Hire Driver's Licence – Donny Singh

The committee was scheduled to consider a request to suspend the private hire driver's licence of Donny Singh. According to the report pack, Mr Singh was granted a renewal licence on 16 January 2025, with the condition that he complete the Intermediate level Driver Skills Development Programme (DSDP) training course within six months.

The report pack notes that Mr Singh booked the required training on 29 July 2025, with a course date of 7-9 April 2026, which is more than 10 months after the completion date required by his licence.

The report pack states that the committee was asked to determine whether to suspend the licence, and if so, for what period.

Short Term Let Licences

The committee was scheduled to consider several applications for short-term let licences, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006².

New Applications

The committee was scheduled to consider new short-term let licence applications for the following properties:

• Flat 12, 7 North Werber Place The report pack notes that this is a home letting with 2 guests and 1 bedroom. The application had been continued from 12 August and had received two public objections from J & A.Noble and R. Morton.
• Flat 11, 18 Terrars Croft The report pack notes that this is a home letting and home sharing property with 3 guests and 1 bedroom. The application had been continued from 12 August and had received two public objections from J. Cunningham and A. Mackillop.
• 7 Hailes Street The report pack notes that this is a home letting and home sharing property with 8 guests and 4 bedrooms. The application had been continued from 12 August and had received five public objections from C. Vickerman, K. Dobson, R. Clark, R. Fraser and W. Johnson.
• Flat 6, 3 Gentle's Entry The report pack notes that this is a home sharing property with 2 guests and 1 bedroom. The application had received one public objection from P. Lord.
• 25b Broughton Place The report pack notes that this is a home letting property with 2 guests and 1 bedroom. The application had received three public objections from J.Dunkel, L. Leslie-Campbell and E. MacArthur.
• 20 Fraser Avenue The report pack notes that this is a secondary let[^4] property with 4 guests and 2 bedrooms. The application had received one late public objection from E. Rodger. The report pack also notes that a planning application was awaiting assessment and that the property inspection had passed.

Renewal Application

The committee was scheduled to consider a renewal application for a short-term let licence for the following property:

• 18 Spring Gardens The report pack notes that this is a secondary let property with 8 guests and 4 bedrooms, and that the application is for a 3-year renewal. The application had received one public objection from R. Blades. The report pack also notes that planning permission had been granted on appeal and that the property inspection had passed.