An email alert from the DSA:
Private wheel clamping to be banned
Wheel clamping on private land is to be banned in England and Wales. The ban, which will be introduced in the new Freedom Bill in November, will impose tough penalties on anyone who clamps a vehicle or tows it away on private land.
Wheel clamping on private land
Once the ban comes into force it will be illegal to clamp, tow away or in any way immobilise a vehicle on private land.
Anyone who clamps, immobilises or tows away a vehicle on private land without the specific legal authority to do so will face criminal charges or civil penalties.
However, the ban will only apply to private land.
It will not affect local authorities’ and the police’s right to clamp vehicles.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will continue to clamp or tow away vehicles if the vehicle tax has not been paid.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) will also continue to clamp or tow away un-roadworthy vehicles to stop them being used on the road.
At the moment, if someone wants to work clamping vehicles, they must hold a frontline licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA). This will stop once the ban comes into force.
There are currently 2,150 people who are licensed by the SIA to clamp vehicles.
Read more on DirectgGov
So, it looks like City Estates didn’t get away with it for long!
On the flip side, there is a real danger this change will lead to certain elements of our society – specifically, the dregs – parking wherever the hell they want. But having said that, it was other dregs who made cowboy clamping such a problem in the first places. It was inevitable that the law was likely to be changed at some point. City Estates is a prime exponent of the behaviour that forced this change, and it serves them right!