BURY’S black cab drivers could stage a boycott and take their vehicles off the road in a dispute with the council.

The warning comes from a drivers’ leader who says relations between cabbies and Bury Council are at rock bottom.

Mr Charles Oakes, chairman of Bolton and Bury Hackney Drivers Association (BBHDA), confronted councillors at a meeting of Bury Executive last week. He told them: “The relationship between our members and the council, the council’s licensing committee members and council officers is at an all-time low.”

At the centre of the row is the MOT testing procedure.

The borough’s 160 registered black cabs each have to be serviced twice a year at an MOT centre in Bradley Fold.

BBHDA wants drivers to be able to take their cabs to private garages so they have more choice.

But the council needs the majority of black-cab licence holders to support that idea for it to be pushed through.

Of the 160 licence holders, 80 are BBHDA members. About 45 of the others, claims Mr Oakes, do not drive black cabs.

Mr Oakes explained: “When they become taxi drivers, they aren’t sure if they will be Hackney carriage drivers or private-hire drivers so they get licences for both.

“Once they start in private-hire vehicles, they don’t take part in black-cab-related consultations. That needs looking at.”

A similar issue over MOT testing arose in Bolton in 2007 and, after lobbying from BBHDA, Bolton Council allowed three private garages to do tests.

Mr Oakes said: “We want the same change in Bury and we’ve hit a brick wall.

“We are asking the council if it is prepared to use the Good Relations Programme mediators to resolve these issues.

“If there is no progress in the next few months, there will be no alternative but for us to withdraw our services from the roads.”

Bury’s licensing committee chairman, Cllr Matt Bailey, said: “This is a hot topic at the moment.

“Mr Oakes is quite right to raise his concerns and there are ways it can get resolved.

“It’s clearly an issue and something that needs sorting out.

“I would like to resolve the issue.

“The idea of having more than one MOT station in principle is not a bad one. Officers are looking into the possibilities of it.”