Pay parking fines or be towed, says council

Selfish drivers who persistently flout parking regulations face being towed away as the Royal Borough prepares to adopt tough new powers.

The initiative is aimed at the 226 vehicle owners who persistently fail to pay fines imposed for illegal parking, causing obstructions or taking spaces specifically marked for residents or disabled drivers.

This represents more than 2,100 unpaid penalty charges with a value topping £105,000. 

Persistent offenders are classed as those who have had three or more penalties issued against them and made no effort to pay, or appeal against them.

The Royal Borough is expected to invite tenders from companies that specialise in towing away cars for local authorities and is likely to make a profit of about £30,000 in each of the first three years of operation, as unpaid fines are finally collected.

This week council leader Cllr David Burbage said the authority had decided to take action after realising that some persistent defaulters were driving foreign cars, or cars that had not been legally registered, making it impossible for the DVLA to pass on their details to the council.

Owners whose cars are towed away will have no choice but to reveal their identity and pay back fines.

The authority has been shocked by the smart, expensive nature of some of the cars whose drivers appear to think they are immune from the legal restrictions that constrain others.