The amnesty will coincide with the Clean for the Queen campaign - a bid to clean up Britain in time for Her Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday, which will be officially celebrated in June - and a range of other events the council is running to help improve our environment.
Abandoned vehicles are expensive to remove, have a negative impact on the environment, look unsightly and can lower the quality of life in neighbourhoods.
They can be the result of, or lead to crime. They can quickly become dangerous when vandalised or even be filled with hazardous waste. They can leak dangerous fluids, which can pollute the environment or be burnt out, causing a risk of explosion and endangering lives and property.
During 2015, the council investigated 279 reports of abandoned vehicles and removed a number of dumped vehicles from the city streets, but abandoned vehicles still blight the city.
Cllr Peter Roberts, Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste, said: “While the number of reports of abandoned vehicles appears high, the scale of the problem is manageable with only a small percentage of vehicles reported to us ending up being removed as abandoned.
“We take the view that education should be a part of our enforcement activity and therefore we always try to work with the last registered keeper of any vehicle reported to us and often a call or letter from us results in them removing the vehicle themselves.
“Many drivers do not realise that abandoning their vehicle is a criminal offence, and that the last registered keeper of the vehicle could face a fixed penalty notice of £200 or conviction where the maximum penalty is a fine of up to £2,500 and / or three months’ imprisonment.
“This vehicle amnesty will give residents the opportunity to dispose of any unwanted vehicle free of charge and in line with the legal requirements for disposing of unwanted vehicles.”
Residents can contact the council on 01223 457000 quoting ‘vehicle amnesty’ between 29 February and 4 March to have unwanted vehicles taken away and destroyed free of charge.
Callers will need to give details of the vehicle and contact information. A council officer will then get in touch so that arrangements can be made to have the vehicle taken away and destroyed.
Clean for the Queen will take place nationwide over the weekend of the 4 - 6 March.
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Contacts
Cllr Peter Roberts (Labour group), Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste, email: peter.roberts@cambridge.gov.uk, tel: 07968 216411
Cllr Markus Gehring (Liberal Democrat group), Opposition spokesperson, email: markus.gehring@cambridge.gov.uk, tel: 07789 850287
Cllr Oscar Gillespie (Minorities group), Opposition spokesperson, email: oscar.gillespie@cambridge.gov.uk, tel: 07851 820806
Joel Carré, Head of Streets and Open Spaces, email: joel.carré@cambridge.gov.uk,
tel: 01223 458201
Wendy Young, Operations Manager (Community Engagement and Enforcement) email: wendy.young@cambridge.gov.uk, tel: 01223 458578
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Vehicle amnesty is part of Clean for the Queen campaign
26 February 2016
Cambridge City Council is undertaking a five-day vehicle amnesty from 29 February to 4 March, to give residents the chance to hand over unwanted, end of life vehicles to the council, free of charge.