Westminster Council bans clamping and towing in central London

Vehicles will no longer be clamped or towed in central London as part of a radical shake-up of parking controls, Westminster Council has announced.

From today any vehicle that is causing a serious obstruction on Westminster's streets, such as those parked in a disabled or suspended bay, will be relocated to the nearest available safe space instead.

Vehicles that are relocated will still be issued with a parking ticket but will not be charged any extra for being moved to another location.

The decision also means the council's Park Lane pound, which currently holds almost 300 vehicles, will be closed and used to provide more off street parking for drivers in the capital.

The move is the first of its kind to be implemented in the UK and follows the decision by Westminster parking bosses that clamping and removal have become ineffective deterrents that hinder rather than improve traffic flow.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: "I'm delighted to have made the decision to end clamping and removals, some of the most unpopular forms of parking enforcement in the country.

"Motorists whose vehicles are clamped or removed feel that they have been hit twice, once by the parking ticket and then by the clamp - usually because they made a simple mistake or misread a sign.

"We will instead target our efforts on pursuing the hardcore of motoring offenders who repeatedly flout the law at the expense of the law-abiding majority."

The new rules will also see a further relaxation of parking controls for residents. Permit holders incorrectly parked in a suspended resident's bay will now be given two warning notices on their windscreen over two separate days before being issued a ticket and relocated.

The details of any motorist who attempts to persistently evade Westminster's parking controls will be forwarded to the council's bailiffs who will seek payment on behalf of the authority or in the case of untaxed vehicles, to the DVLA.

Westminster started phasing out clamping two years ago and now, following guidance in the Traffic Management Act it has scrapped it altogether. This has already resulted in a 30,000 fewer vehicles being clamped over the last three years.

There has been almost a 70 per cent reduction in clamping from 47,463 in 04/05 to 15,416 in 07/08.