Council will come and take your unwanted cars

A car left on blocks in South Rd, Caversham has angered residents. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
A car left on blocks in South Rd, Caversham has angered residents. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Wanted: Unwanted vehicles. Contact Dunedin City Council.

Dunedin City Council is continuing its amnesty for unwanted vehicles.

Parking services team leader Daphne Griffen confirmed the amnesty, which began in November 2007, had halved the cost of dealing with unwanted vehicles.

"It was costing us around a $120,000 a year," she said.

Under the amnesty, vehicle owners could sign their vehicle over to the council, which would then deregister and dispose of the vehicle free of charge.

To qualify, vehicles had to be on a person's property, and they needed to fill out an application before the vehicle was removed by an authorised company.

Council received about 30 complaints a week concerning unwanted vehicles, and disposed of about four vehicles a week.

More difficult were abandoned cars which had been stripped of their registration details.

Two long-term Caversham residents said they had contacted the council after a car was left on blocks on their street last week, saying it was an eyesore and they wanted it removed.

Despite residents repeatedly contacting the council, the Subaru Legacy and another car without a bumper remained parked in South Rd yesterday.

However, Ms Griffen said the matter was not as simple as the council just removing the vehicle, because one was the result of an accident, and the other was owned by a resident who was "doing his best to remove it".

Both vehicles were likely to be removed "over the next few days", she said.

- hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz

 

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