Posted on the 9th March 2026 in PHTM News

MP DEMANDS U-TURN ON BAN FOR KENT PUB'S CHARITABLE TAXI SERVICE

A local MP is fighting back after a Kent council shut down a pub landlord’s free shuttle service that raised money for charity.

Katie Lam, the MP for Weald of Kent, has formally asked Ashford Borough Council (ABC) to rethink its decision to stop Paul Hartfield, landlord of The Flying Horse in Smarden, from driving his customers home.

Mr. Hartfield, who previously owned a black cab garage, had been providing the lifts for four months, covering a three-mile radius. While the service was free, passengers could make an optional donation to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Since November 2025, the initiative has safely transported around 100 people and raised £700. However, the council stepped in to halt the operation, arguing that it constitutes an unlicensed private hire business.

In a letter to council leader Noel Ovenden, Ms. Lam argued that the pub’s efforts do not fit the profile of the illegal activity the law is meant to target.

She wrote: “The pub’s service is a clear example of a business doing a good thing for the community... This is not the kind of behaviour that the private car hire licensing system was designed to stamp out.”

She is now pushing for the council to expand its list of exemptions—which currently includes wedding cars and ambulances—to include charitable community efforts like this one.

Ms. Lam believes a "simple, pragmatic change" would support struggling rural pubs and benefit the community. She noted that a policy shift would “both help the rural hospitality sector to survive, and help raise money for their own Mayor’s charity of choice.”

The council maintains that public safety must come first, regardless of the landlord's good intentions.

Officials stated that "a business providing a car for hire with the services of a driver – with or without direct payment of money – is a licensable activity."

They explained that the licensing system ensures drivers and vehicles are safe and properly insured, adding that “the council must balance good intentions with our regulatory responsibilities.

While the council has offered to help Mr. Hartfield apply for a standard licence, the MP remains adamant that the charitable nature of the service should outweigh the usual red tape.


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