Clamp city

Motorists could now face paying out £75 to get their car back if they leave it illegally parked more than three times in six months.

The longer they leave it, the more it will cost them.

City of York Council says the move will close a loophole in the system, putting an end to motorists parking illegally on a daily basis despite being issued with numerous penalty charge notices.

Councillors believe it could also help police and crack down on motorists who put others at risk by not having insurance or MOT for their vehicles.

Officers say it is "highly unlikely" the authority will benefit financially from the clamping scheme, as they expect many offenders to fail to contact the council to obtain their vehicles' release.

"This is because the vehicles in such cases tend to be old and worth less than the charge for removal would be," said Russ Broadbent, parking services manager.

"The council will then have to bear the cost of clamping, removal and disposal."

Coun Ceredig Jamieson-Ball welcomed the plans: "Considering that there are a number of people who can simply drive around without insurance or MOT, this must be a help to the police having some of these off the road. It is quite an important step."

Parking attendants will be able to tell when a vehicle has been illegally parked before by keying the vehicle's registration number into their hand-held computers, which will indicate whether there have been previous offences.

Councillors heard that only one company specialising in clamping vehicles had expressed an interest in providing the service, while also satisfying officers that they can meet government guidlines.

Mr Broadbent said the council expected that an average of only about one vehicle per week would fulfil the criteria to be clamped.

One of the leading campaigners against York's new parking charges and restrictions, Fossgate trader David Cox, said today he would support the clamping of persistent and deliberate offenders.

"We are not supporting people who break the rules, but are campaigning for a change in the rules," he said.

But he said he would have concerns if this turned out to be the "thin end of the wedge," and an attempt was ever made to extend clamping to motorists caught parking illegally just once, who might have done so by accident.

York parking income up £2.9m in 5 years

NEW figures revealed today that York's income from parking charges and fines almost doubled in only five years - increasing faster than any other local authority in Yorkshire.

The rise - from £3.7 million in 1997/98 to £6.6 million in 2002/03 - covers a period when City of York Council was controlled by Labour, before the recent introduction of controversial evening and on-street charges by the new Liberal Democrat administration.

The Department of Transport statistics reveal that revenue rose by 51 per cent nationally to almost a billion pounds in 2002-03.

The Lib Dem's national transport spokesman, John Thurso, claimed that charges were punishing motorists without reducing congestion.

"These figures make clear that increasing parking charges simply punishes motorists without achieving any impact on reduction in congestion," he said.

"Tackling congestion requires two integrated policies. First, we need a safe, reliable and affordable public transport system.

"And secondly, we need to concentrate more on charging for car use rather than ownership. The most effective way to do this would be to look at introducing a national road charging scheme."

The figures, published in response to a Parliamentary written question from the Liberal Democrats, revealed that North Yorkshire County Council raised £91,000 from parking meters and penalties, compared with nothing in 1997-98.

Revenue soared by 43 per cent in Ryedale from £430,000 to £617,000, while Harrogate saw a ten per cent rise from £1.8 million to £2 million.

Parking receipts rose by 36 per cent in Scarborough, from £2.7 million to £3.7million, Selby's rose seven per cent from £167,000 to £179,000, Hambleton rose from nil to £50,000 and East Riding of Yorkshire by 62 per cent from £1.2million to £1.9million.

Coun Ann Reid, York's executive member for planning and transport, said the city had bucked the national trend, in that raised charges had been accompanied by other measures such as expanded Park & Ride services, which together had helped reduce congestion.

Labour group leader Dave Merrett said that in the Local Transport Plan consultation in 2000, the York public had supported measures including increased parking charges to tackle congestion, but Labour had always been conscious of the potential impact on the city centre economy, and avoided evening charges because of the effect on the evening economy.

Updated: 10:52 Thursday, July 08, 2004