Community Issue - Vehicle Trading on Highways
To address the issue of vehicles being advertised and/or sold on highways across the Trowbridge Community Area with Ian Brown, Head of Amenities and Countryside.
Minutes:
David Growcott, Enforcement Manager, presented information on the issue of vehicles being advertised and/or sold on the highway. A full briefing paper outlining the current situation was circulated.
Legislation being considered to address the issue included the following:
· The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 - however this legislation required a prosecution process which may prove expensive, unwieldy and ineffective, and so would not usually be the most appropriate option.
· The Highways Act 1980 – there were several potential sections under this Act, however all of them suffered the same weaknesses described above.
· The Highways Act 1980, Section 143 – discussions were taking place with the legal department regarding an approach using this piece of legislation. By issuing a notice under this Section, it allowed an individual up to one month in which to remove the vehicle, after which the Council could remove them and recover reasonable costs.
The Council was currently running a trial of the use of Section 143 on two sites within close proximity of each other on the outskirts of Salisbury. If this trial proved successful then the Council may seek to roll out the process across the county in appropriate areas.
The Chairman thanked David for his presentation and requested that a report was brought back to the Area Board to update on the progress with the trial in Salisbury and if it would be rolled out in Trowbridge Community Area.