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signs are increasing on Maidstone’s Willington Street, leaving little or no room for people wanting to le- gitimately park. Other vehicles are accumulating


on spare land in Sutton Road, at Linton crossroads and at Grove Green. No fewer than five vehicleswere snapped in Willington Street by local resident Don Wright, who has repeatedly asked both Maidstone Borough and Kent County councils to take action. He said: “People who buy these


cars must be desperate. All they have is a mobile phone number – and no comeback once they have parted with their cash. “I’m not usually a fan of car salesmen, but even they must be getting fed up of this kind of cheap competition.


“It is just


like another form of fly- tipping. Peo- ple


are Cllr Malcolm McKay


leaving these cars where they like. Our town is becoming lit- tered with old wrecks of


Call to remove cars for sale Resolving


cars going at cheap prices.” Shepway South Cllr Malcolm McKay said: “The vehicle that has been in the layby the longest is no longer taxed or insured. It has been reported to the police who do not seem that interested. “Kent County Council (KCC)


does not seem to want to take re- sponsibility as it sees the layby as part of Mote Park.” Mr Wright said: “If they see the


layby as part of Mote Park, why did they resurface it last year? “Peoplewanting to use the layby


to park their car whilst using Mote Park will find it full of cars for sale. They therefore become a nuisance to the public. “Councils can pass byelaws pro- hibiting the sale of cars on the high- ways and put parking restrictions on known problem areas, such as they have around Bearsted Station, where parking is banned for just an hour a day. Why is nobody pre-


What the law states


IF a car is taxed, it cannot be towed away.However, if it is not, by law, it should not be on the road. Likewise, if a car is uninsured it should not be on


the road, but police say insurance details can only be ascertained when the owner of the vehicle is present – which is rare. If a car has a SORN (statutory off road notice) al- lowing it to be uninsured and untaxed, then it should not be on the public highway – including in a layby. One of the cars in Willington Street has hardly


moved since November and now has flat tyres – al- though it is taxed and MOT’d until September; two others are parked without valid car tax, but have clearly been driven. On one occasion, the line of cars was joined by a white transit van – also for sale.


pared to do anything but pass the buck?” When Mr Wright first reported


one of the vehicles – a Chrysler – as an abandoned vehicle the reason given for not removing it was that it was taxed and had an MOT cer- tificate. It is now on a Statutor Off Road Notice (SORN) and has flat tyres.


When he reported a second vehi-


cle thatwas on a SORN in the same layby, hewas told he had to report it to the DVLA as itwas their job to deal with it. Mr Wright said: “There are now


four vehicles in the layby including a large van. None of them are taxed. I have reported all four to the DVLA, but whether anyone will bother to do anything is doubt- ful.


“If I drive a carwithout tax or in- surance I could be prosecuted, but these people appear to have an im- munity called ‘it's not our job’.”


Parking spaces taken


THE collection of cars for sale at Linton crossroads was raised by a number of residents at a recent meeting of Linton Parish Council, where commu- nitywardenAdam McKinley offered to investigate. Parish councillor Ron Leagas said: “One of the biggest complaints I receive from people in Cox- heath is the lack of parking in the village – yet every day there will be at least one car parked for sale in the layby in front of the shops, taking up valuable space set aside for shoppers. “Unless some enforcement action is taken, it will


just carry on. This is simply not acceptable whenwe have a shortage of parking spaces for genuine shop- pers and it is something which angers the shop- keepers, as well as their customers.”


Bluebell walk for hospice


HEART of Kent Hospice will welcome supporters old and new at the Bluebell Walk on Sunday, May 1 to help celebrate 25 years of providing compas- sionate care. This circular six-mile sponsored trek, which starts at Harrietsham Village


Hall between 8.30am and 10.30am, takes walkers across the North Downs and through woods and farmland which have been opened for the hospice by local landowners. There will also be a quiz for children, as well as craft, cake and food stalls and a new picnic pit-stop. Maidstone-based housing association Golding Homes is the major spon-


sor of this year’s BluebellWalk. worthy cause.” To register for the BluebellWalk, go online at www.hokh.org/events or call the fundraising team on 01622 790195.


16 Maidstone Town May 2016


RESIDENTS in Maidstone are calling for a council clampdown on roadside car dealers, trying to sell vehicles from verges and laybys. Parked cars carrying “for sale”


the problem THE law is far from straightfor- ward.


Maidstone Council has said it


has no powers to act, but it is working with Kent Highways and Trading Standards to try to prevent further spread of the practice. It could follow the example of


Gravesham Council which launched a high-profile cam- paign two years ago to tackle a similar problem. Following a three-month cam-


paign which involved mailing residents, displaying posters and the use of mobile CCTV and powers of enforcement, vehicles vanished from a stretch of Rochester Road. Graveshamwas able to issue a


fixed penalty notice to a dealer in breach of the Clean Neighbour- hoods and Environment Act 2005 – but only because he had two or more vehicles advertised for sale and parked within 500 metres of each other. Under the HighwaysAct 1980,


action can only be taken if the ve- hicles are causing an obstruction, a danger or a safety risk. Issuing a Penalty Charge No-


tice can be ineffective, as details of vehicle ownership lodged with the DVLA are often out of date. The Department of Transport


does not recommend clamping or removal of offending vehicles but Maidstone Council thinks this could work as a deterrent and drive rogue traders out of the borough, if applied under a joint approach with KCC. However, Gravesham Coun-


cil’s tactics were successful in driving the rogue dealers out of town.


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