Confused.com's Owe Carter offers his opinion on the proposed private-land clamping ban, and would like to hear yours.
Thankfully, this'll soon be a thing of the past
A few weeks ago, we pondered as to whether there should be tougher laws concerning wheel clamping on private land. And now the Home Office has announced that clamping and towing on private land is to be outlawed.
This proposal will form part of the coalition government's Freedom Bill, which is to be introduced in November.
This doesn't mean that parking on private land will become a free for all. Local councils and the police will retain power to immobilise and remove vehicles parked on private land in exceptional circumstances, such as if an important thoroughfare is blocked.
However, clampers and landowners taking the law into their own hands could face fines or even custodial sentences.
The principal rationale for the proposed ban is to round up the cowboys. Announcing these proposals, the Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information, Lynne Featherstone, declared that the government is "committed to ending the menace of rogue private sector wheel-clampers once and for all".
An upshot of the ban is likely to mean that more people park without consideration on private property. Although, let's be honest: this is a lesser evil than the systematic targeting of more vulnerable members of society by unscrupulous clampers. And it still leaves landowners with the remedy of intervention from the local authorities in the case of genuinely ridiculous parking.
In any case, it's difficult not to conclude that the government is making policy decisions based on what they read in this blog. Which should mean that there are proposals on their way to allow learner drivers to practice on the motorway, and an impending review of the national speed limit. Watch this space!
If you'd like to share your opinions on the clamping ban, feel free to comment below.
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