MSE News: Wheel clamping to be banned on private land

Oopsadaisy

Sounds like if the landowner merely [re]moves the vehicle [eg to gain access for themselves or to keep a firedoor clear] they are not committing an offence.

So if you're a landowner remove the vehicle from say London to Glasgow and I doubt if the 'rogue' parker will park on your land again.

In essence it seems that the element of making money will be removed but landowners will be better able to manage their own land.

kwaks

geordieracer wrote: »

What is your answer then? Just what do you do with people who park badly with no thought for others?

I 'll answer this one, as someone who lives in Scotland.

The answer is simply provide enough parking. Shocking isnt it?

Supermarkets have large car parks which are rarely full. Shopping centres have large car parks which are rarely full. etc etc

If there are plenty of spaces people don't stress so much about who should be parked where.

People park on someone elses drive? It doesn't happen as Scottish people wouldn't be that rude.

My local council and rail company anre currently adding a second car park to the local station, to give an extra 725 spaces. This is the type of foresight that needs to be encouraged.

Cars can still be "towed". The difference is it is the Police/council who do it only if it causes an obstruction.

If someone DID park on my drive? A few mates or some trolley jacks and the car can be turned to make driving away extremly difficult.

trisontana

Well said kwaks. As has been said before on here, PPCs promise a "solution" to a non existent problem. Before these con-merchants came on the scene, supermarkets seem to get on OK and did not suffer much from unauthorised parking. Some stores even had a barrier system where you had to show proof of purchase before you were allowed to exit the car-park. That seemed to work OK as well. Then the PPCs came on the scene and we find ourself in the position we are in now.

There is some good news though, a few supermarkets are getting rid of PPCs because of all the complaints they are getting about them and just relying on the good-will of the shoppers.

Oopsadaisy

We all know it's OK to abuse the parking in the big supermarkets and retail parks, same as the odd bit of shop-lifting [they'll never notice it].

I think the new regs will sort out those people who abuse smaller 'private' parks...there will be no money to be made from private parking anymore so the cowboy clampers will be dead and buried, but the concerned landowner can still take suitable action against inconsiderate people/trespassers.

You know what? It might actually work.

ghostmadlittlemiss

Here's an example of a business being affected in the opposite way, by the clampers.

A take-away offers delivery. The store is quite small and offers parking at the back that will fit (at a push and with some co-ordination) 1 smart car, 2 regular sized cars, 1 moped and 1 push bike. The take-away is the most popular one in a town with two universities. In order to keep up with deliveries, at least 9 drivers are needed on a quiet night and there can be up to 25 on the busiest. As I said, 5 people can park in the store's own parking spaces and the smart car belongs to the manager, leaving room for 4 drivers. (Yes, he should park elsewhere but he's lazy).

This leaves three options for drivers who start work before 8pm (a local car park becomes free of change after 8). Either park partly on the pavement, obstructing pedestrians and slowing down traffic as they take it in turns to pass the cars partly on the road, and risk a £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within two weeks) fine that they have a month to pay, with traffic wardens coming along typically between every two weeks and every month. Or park between the folding poles surrounding the pavement on either side of their carpark, obstructing no one. There's a small business park further down the road which is why there's poles, no one walks in or out at that time of night and if they did, they could use the pavement on the other side of the gateway to the business park, no one parks there. And as the drivers are on the pavement, not the road, they're not blocking cars from getting in and out. However, there's clamping in operation costing £150 and the clampers are there every day. Far cheaper to use the road.

Option 3 is the local car park, a small walk away (and time is everything when delivering take-aways, a hungry customer is often an angry customer, one who won't hesitate to 'shoot the messager'. Plus, it costs roughly £1 an hour and it's often full and can be difficult to get out of. I know many of you will believe that parking in the car park is the right thing to do, however the drivers are on the minimum wage and the meagre petrol allowance they get is nowhere near enough to cover the fuel used so that comes from their wages, as does maintaining a car that is often driven for up to 10 or 12 hours a day, sometimes longer. The drivers can't always afford to do the right thing, especially when there's pressure on them to deliver quickly and walking to the car park takes time. So as you can see, employees of a business can be affected too.

And the answer for anyone who, through accident or otherwise, is blocked in/out by a driver? Leave their car and walk all of 6 feet to the take-away and ask for the car in question to be moved. Not employ a agent of a largely criminal business to hold the car in place, meaning they have to wait even longer to get in/out. Common sense there, though sadly lacking it seems.

This is just an example of another side of things, please accept the lack of black and white in it, the right answer isn't always available to some people and surely the drivers are better working than in the dole queue?
Kayleigh

fluffnutter

Anyone know when this is likely to be law?

Oopsadaisy

Soon, imminent, er...never.

peter_the_piper

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

Soon, imminent, er...never.

I sincerely hope you're wrong on the last bit.

Taken from a Directgov website:- Wheel clamping on private land is to be banned in England and Wales. The ban, which will be introduced in the new Freedom Bill in November, will impose tough penalties on anyone who clamps a vehicle or tows it away on private land.


I feel sorry for any MP that votes against it.

intranix

What happened about this? When will this ban take place?

I ask because the managing agents for my block of flats have written me and other tennants a letter, saying that with immediate effect "company x" will be clamping vehicles immediately if in breach of parking regulations, with a £125 release fee.

so when will it be banned?

peter_the_piper

Get together with the other residents and demand to know why. What is in it for them? Is there a problem with rogue parking?