Southwark Lib Dems pledge to scrap wheel clamps

3.06.33pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 27th Apr 2006

Southwark Liberal Democrats have pledged to scrap wheel clamps for parking offences in the borough if they win a majority of seats on the council in the forthcoming local elections.

Learning from Liberal Democrat colleagues in Islington, who have successfully scrapped wheel clamps, Southwark Lib Dems will also fully review how the council approaches and enforces parking across the borough.

Making the announcement, Cllr Richard Thomas, Lib Dem Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:

"Parking is such a huge issue in central London and we need to ensure that Southwark's parking policy works for local businesses and residents and not against them."

"All responsible drivers will want to enforce parking regulations and if a car is blocking the highway and causing congestion it's nonsensical to compound the situation by preventing the car from being moved at all."

"In our often congested borough the last thing we want is for traffic to be held up unnecessarily by a clamped vehicle. This is why Southwark Liberal Democrats have decided to scrap wheel clamping across the borough."