TAXI bosses in York say they have received an "incredibly positive" response from council chiefs who are dealing with their concerns over Uber’s operations in the city.

And City of York Council says it will now consider the issue with its legal advisors.

York Private Hire Association commissioned a report from Gerald Gouriet QC - a barrister who specialises in licensing issues in England and Wales - following years of complaints by local drivers against Uber and its drivers.

Last December, City of York Council refused to renew the operators’ licence held by Uber in the city, but the report said “the refusal appears to have made little or no difference”.

In his legal opinion, Mr Gouriet QC wrote: “I am strongly of the opinion that Uber and Uber drivers are acting as unlicensed operators.

“Uber vehicles and drivers continue to present themselves in York and invite potential customers to book their services on their smartphones. Uber encourages and incentivises drivers to do so. The result is that out-of-town private hire drivers and vehicles not meeting York’s licensing requirements, are undertaking PHV (private hire vehicle) bookings on the city’s streets.”

Wendy Loveday, chair of the York Private Hire Association, was among local representatives who met with members of City of York Council’s licensing team on Monday to discuss the report, and said she was pleased with the response.

She said: “The council is dealing with it in an incredibly positive manner and I feel they are 100 per cent behind the York trade.

"I didn’t come out of that meeting with the slightest doubt that they were not acting in a professional manner and for us.

“We’re looking forward to what the council will do. We’re completely optimistic on the council’s attitude towards it [the report]."

A York council spokesman confirmed the authority met with representatives from York’s taxi trade “to discuss the recent QC report”, and the council would “now consider this information with our legal advisors”.

The spokesman said further details on this would be released in the coming weeks.

Uber was contacted for comment.