Impounding fees up

Press, 4 February 1982, Page 4

Impounding fees up

Christchurch residents who 1 leave derelict vehicles aban- c doned in city streets may 1 soon face extra storage i charges if they later try to 1 claim the vehicles from the 1 City Council yard. From March 1, persons ( who claimed vehicle in stor- | age would have to pay $lO . for the first week and $5 per < week after that under a works and traffic committee recommendation. • That would be in addition ' to the normal $3O charge for ! removing vehicles from streets to the Lyttelton ; Street yard. *> . i The council is now holding ;

15 vehicles, 10 owned by one company, in the yard. They have been claimed by three persons, but no attempt has been made to remove them by their owners. The fence surrounding the council yard has recently been cut a number of timees, and some parts have been taken. That has created further costs for the council, in additon to the cost of providing a storage area. Councillors were told that abandoned vehicles were rarely claimed, and up to 10 suspected.abandoned

vehicles were reported by residents each week. The Ministry of Transport asks owners to move them if owners can be found. “It is obvious that a number of persons are disposing of their. derelict vehicles by leaving them in the street rather than paying the disposal fee of $l2 at the landfill site, and other costs of towing or transporting the vehicle to that site,” said a council report., Vehicles not claimed by their owners are sold to the highest tenderer, or dumped at the tip if a buyer cannot be found.