The two-month trial which ends on May 31 has proved to be so successful that the council is looking at running another initiative in the future. In the first two-and-half weeks of the scheme, the council received 440 applications to collect unwanted cars from residents.
Councillor Pam Palmer, who has responsibility for the environment, said: “By introducing the amnesty for abandoned and unwanted vehicles the council hopes that it will see a reduction in the number of cars being abandoned illegally in the county.”
She added: “It is very promising to see that so many people have taken advantage of the free amnesty and I’m sure that due to the overwhelming response we have had for this trial we will be thinking of running another trial period in the future.”
The council has said that cars can only be collected if the relevant documentation is provided and for relatively new vehicles a log book must be shown. But the council particularly wants to overcome the problem of vehicles which have been left abandoned for a long period of time and in such cases will accept a letter of disclaimer from the owner.
The number of applications has been higher than predicted and this means that the council and its contractors, Ferrybridge Autosalvage of Neath, have been unable to keep to their promise of collecting the cars within seven days. Carmarthenshire County Council is having to reassure residents that their cars will be collected shortly.
Subscribe for free