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Cardiff's cabbies have vowed to fight a council plan to double their annual licence fees to almost £450, claiming the hike will leave some facing bankruptcy.

Taxi drivers berated councillors at County Hall after a committee voted to increase the annual hackney carriage vehicle renewal fee from £230 to £435 from June.

By comparison, the private hire vehicles renewal charge will drop from £230 to £97.

A host of new fees are also planned, including £30 for a driver’s first two oral knowledge test; £19 for the written knowledge test, £15 for replacement plates and a £26 admin charge for change of vehicle.

There were cries of “you’re robbing us” from cabbies who packed the public gallery, with one shouting: “You are going to make 900 drivers bankrupt – that is all you are going to do.”

Public Protection Committee chairman Derrick Morgan, however, stressed the decision was only the start of a consultation which will last 28 days.

Should objections be received, the fee rise will be delayed to give trade representatives the chance to put their concerns to councillors ahead of a second vote.

The council’s head of regulatory and supporting services Dave Holland said the fees had not increased since 2009. The proposed increases, he said, would cover the cost to the council of operating the licensing regime.

It was not outlined in the meeting what the deficit is, but Mr Holland said: “We need to get to a point where the licensing regime operates properly.

“This will be the first time that the fees have been set following this process.”

Capital Cabs company secretary Sharyn Donnachie said contrary to officers’ calculations that the taxi trade costs the council money, she had calculated that the fees generated a £714,000 surplus over the past three years.

“So you can afford to give every driver a free licence this year,” Ms Donnachie told the committee.

She said the council’s figures had been “manipulated to maximise the charges”, saying drivers should not be expected to cover the cost of taxi rank marshals who are there to serve the public.

Coun Morgan said approving the fee increase was “the quickest way forward” as it allowed the trade to submit their views to the council.

He told protesting cabbies: “We are not here to punish taxi drivers. Your trade has now got the right to make representation against the figures in that package.”

It also emerged yesterday that some taxi trade representatives had last month launched legal action against the council.

On March 1, members of the trade made an application for a judicial review in the High Court challenging the current set of council fees and those of previous years.