At a cabinet meeting last week, it was decided to introduce the new post to the council's environment, planning and review department to deal specifically with the problem. The council also agreed to register with the online abandoned vehicle identification service set up by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
“This is really good news for the people of Richmond,” said councillor Mark Kreling. “The hazards and untidy look that abandoned vehicles give borough streets will be reduced dramatically.”
It has been estimated that around 500,000 vehicles are abandoned in the UK Each year. In Richmond, the number collected by the council has grown from 145 in 1997-8 to 1525 in 2001, and it is thought that the figure will top 2000 this year. The biggest cause for the growth in abandoned vehicles has been the dramatic fall in value of scrap metal.
The government is currently working on how to make vehicle manufacturers responsible for orphan end-of-life vehicles with the intention of a new law implementing the European End-of-Life Vehicles Directive some time in 2003 (see letsrecycle.com legislation section).
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