Motorists could 'lose their cars forever' as tougher parking rules come into effect - 'Extremely frustrating'

Under the new policy, which came into force on July 28, drivers who fail to pay their parking tickets will have their vehicles seized and towed away.

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In the first week of the operation, the council revealed that 23 vehicles had already been seized for parking failures, with drivers warned to follow the rules.

Drivers can have their cars towed away for breaching an array of errors, including parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, parking or loading/unloading in a restricted street where restrictions are in force or parking in a suspended bay or space or part of a space.

Other measures that could see cars seized include parking in a special enforcement area more than 50cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place, as well as stopping at a restricted bus stop or stand.

Motorists can also find themselves in trouble if they stop in a restricted area outside a school when prohibited, or when stopping at a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zig-zags.

The tougher measures under the Vehicle Removals Policy were approved by the council's cabinet last year before being officially introduced a few weeks ago.

It gives the council the power to remove a vehicle from the highway if there are more than three unpaid parking tickets associated with the vehicle.

The first 23 vehicles, which were removed under the new rules, were taken from streets in Chalvey, the Diamond Road estate and the High Street and surrounding areas.

During the first week of enforcement, the council announced that it had seized a vehicle which had racked up a total of 134 unpaid tickets, while another car had 117 tickets outstanding, with seven other cars having more than 30 outstanding tickets.

Councillor Paul Kelly said: "Illegal parking is not only inconsiderate but anti-social. It blocks roads, causes congestion, causes no end of safety problems and is extremely frustrating for other road users.

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"Imagine paying for a parking permit only to find someone who doesn’t have one is constantly parking in the limited space available, but despite receiving parking ticket after parking ticket, keeps on doing it."

He explained that the new policy aims to tackle parking problems by "literally removing those offending vehicles from the streets", which forces drivers to pay the fines they owe or "lose their cars forever".

Kelly added that while the vast majority of people, if they are caught parking illegally, "put their hands up and pay the fine," there are still some who disobey the rules.

"But as the first week’s figures show, there are repeat offenders who think they can park where they want, when they want and not pay any price. Now that price is their vehicle," he noted.

The council stated that all the vehicles removed will be stored at a secure compound until drivers settle their fines and storage costs, which would then allow the vehicles to be released to their owners.

Notably, the policy also covers abandoned vehicles as well as non-motorised vehicles such as trailers, caravans and damaged vehicles.

If a vehicle is removed from the road, Thames Valley Police will be informed to help avoid cases where drivers assume their vehicle has been stolen.

Kelly warned: "We hope drivers can follow the rules and park where they are permitted to; if they don't, there is a real risk that their vehicle will be removed from the highway, and they'll have to pay additional fees for removal and storage. The ultimate risk is that the vehicle will be disposed of."