Somerset trials scheme to tackle abandoned vehicles problem

The council will start a three-month trial in November which will see the immediate removal of abandoned vehicles which are in a dangerous condition or location in the Taunton area. The initiative follows a best value review and if successful it will be rolled out county-wide.

The scheme is part of an improvement plan which has been produced following a joint waste best value review, which reviews the five Somerset district councils and the county council's waste policies together.

The review looked at the whole of Somerset's waste management services and came up with five areas which could be improved. The abandoned vehicles scheme has been fast-tracked because the council saw that it could save money by improving the speed of removal of abandoned vehicles. The review also highlighted how recycling, civic amenity sites, residual waste and education could be improved with draft plans for these about to go out to consultation.

The council, as part of the Somerset Waste Partnership, has endorsed a five-year plan which it hopes will tackle the problem of abandoned vehicles. In the last three years the number of abandoned vehicles in the county rose from 496 to 1,253 with the cost of the service across Somerset rising from 31,714 in 1998-99 to 103,030 last year.

Following consultation with the police, fire brigade and community groups the council hopes that the scheme will see the “nuisance of abandoned vehicles decrease”. The scheme is similar to one that is being run in Bristol by Avon and Somerset police.

Ever-growing problem

Paula Brooks, the council's waste services manager, said: “A review group focused in on seven service improvements that we felt were needed to tackle this ever-growing problem and in particular reduce the time that an abandoned vehicle was left unattended.”

The council identified ways to improve the service which included increasing the speed that abandoned vehicles were removed from the highway; reducing the cost of the service to councils; contributing to a reduction in crime and disorder and the environmental and social impact of reducing the numbers of abandoned vehicles in Somerset; improving the level of co-ordination between the councils as well as customers and improving statutory powers for local authorities by lobbying government and the Local Government Association.

Currently, once a vehicle has been identified as abandoned a seven day notice is placed on it warning of the vehicles impending removal. But the new scheme, which will see the council working closely with the police, will see vehicles moved immediately if they are in a dangerous condition or location. The council is currently developing a set of criteria to define how a vehicle is classified as dangerous. If an abandoned vehicle is not in a dangerous position or location a seven day notice will still be issued.