Islington Council and its partners NCP today announced that the council is to stop clamping illegally parked cars on the borough’s streets.<br><br>“We are listening to residents,” says council leader Steve Hitchins: “They say ‘clamping-it just doesn’t make sense’ and we are responding by calling a halt to clamping.”<br><br>Clamping has long been a peril for motorists - anyone breaking the rules, such as forgetting to pay at the meter, not only has a ticket to contend with, but also faces a wheel clamp and the inconvenience and aggravation of arranging its removal before they can use their car.<br><br>“We want our parking policies to be understood, as firm but fair, and as a council we want to show that we do listen. That is why we have decided to say ‘no’ to the clamping of cars in Islington,” concluded Steve Hitchins.<br><br>Islington’s call to end clamping builds upon a series of steps it is taking in response to residents' concerns and the need to keep Islington’s streets safe for everyone. These include easy to understand colour coding of parking bays, providing extra parking bays across the borough and partnership working with the police to reduce car crime and vandalism.<br><br>NCP Chief Executive Bob Macnaughton, says: “Parking enforcement is a high profile public service and we are very pleased to help Islington respond to the public’s views on how that service should be carried out in the borough.<br><br>“There is no question that clamping can play an important role in deterring illegal parking, but it is right that the public has a say in how deterrents such as this are used.”<br><br>Islington was the last inner London borough to introduce clamping (in 2003) and will be the first to remove it.<br>END
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009