Nuisance car sales success on Sewall Highway
Friday 5 October 2012
The war on nuisance roadside car sellers is being won at a former hotspot in the city as a result of a crackdown on the issue.
The problem, where a car-selling business parks a number of cars on main residential roads, has blighted certain areas of the city.
It has left affected residents unable to park close to their homes while the having to deal with the issue of people looking round and haggling over prices for the vehicles.
Sewall Highway was one of the worse affected roads in the city but has improved significantly since the crackdown started earlier this year.
Coventry City Council has been using a range of powers to tackle the situation including new powers from Street Trading laws that came into effect in April.
This prohibits the sale of cars on the roadside but allows an owner of a car selling no more than two of their vehicles outside their own home each year.
All known car traders across the city were written to as part of the campaign and officers have been targeting known hotspot areas.
Councillor Faye Abbott, Chair of Coventry's Streets and Neighbourhood Scrutiny Board, said the crackdown was not interested in punishing legitimate traders.
"The vast majority of car selling businesses are considerate and operate within the spirit of the law," she said.
"However, there is a small minority who disregard, flout or manipulate the law causing problems to others.
"Nuisance car sales issue is an example of this as residents' lives in affected areas are blighted by the sale of numerous cars up for sale over a prolonged period of time.
"However we are committed to tackling this issue and our current success will not allow us to be complacent as we appreciate it is a constant issue and there is still more to do."
Anyone wanting to report nuisance car sales problems should contact Coventry City Council on 0500 834 333.
