No roadside offence, no second chance: operator loses licence after ignoring regulator

Hampshire Group Southern Ltd, previously known as JCT Group Holdings Ltd, had been authorised to operate just two vehicles and no trailers. But the size of the fleet did not make the case a minor one in the eyes of Traffic Commissioner Miles Dorrington.

Following a public inquiry in Bristol on 3 June 2026, the Commissioner revoked the operator’s licence and proposed two-year disqualification orders against both the company and its sole director, Vicky Steere.

The revocation is due to take effect at 23:45 on 2 August 2026. The proposed disqualifications will also come into force at the same time unless a hearing is requested by 14:00 on 13 July 2026.

The case was not built around the usual roadside prohibition, maintenance investigation or drivers’ hours prosecution. Instead, it centred on something more basic: the operator’s repeated failure to engage with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.

In his written decision, Dorrington described it as “an unusual case” because it was focused on the operator’s failure to co-operate with the regulator, rather than on DVSA evidence.

The company had been granted its restricted licence in July 2025 after a previous public inquiry. That licence came with a formal undertaking requiring a director to attend a one-day operator licence management course and provide evidence of attendance.

The Commissioner found that the undertaking had been breached. Although a certificate was eventually provided for Vicky Steere, this came late and did not answer the specific questions the regulator had asked.

The written decision sets out a chain of missed or incomplete responses. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner sent messages, letters and a formal request for explanation, but key questions remained unanswered. A letter sent in January warned that it was “fundamental to the trust required to hold an Operator Licence” that correspondence from the Traffic Commissioner be answered fully and promptly.

The operator was later called to a public inquiry. Case management directions required the company to provide maintenance and drivers’ hours records in advance, but the Commissioner found that much of the required evidence was still missing on the day of the hearing.

Vicky Steere did not attend the inquiry herself. Her husband, Shaun Steere, attended and was allowed to speak on behalf of the company after providing a letter of consent.

Dorrington concluded that the company’s failures went to the heart of operator licensing. He said there was no longer sufficient trust that the business would comply with the regime if allowed to continue operating.

He also said the conduct of the sole director led him to the “unequivocal conclusion” that neither the operator nor the director could be trusted.

The decision is a sharp reminder that, in the UK operator licensing system, ignoring the regulator can be just as damaging as a bad roadside encounter. For hauliers, even small operators, paperwork and correspondence are not optional extras. If the Traffic Commissioner asks questions, silence can become a regulatory death sentence.