by David O’Connor, HCEL Director
Last summer a dilapidated untaxed Ford Galaxy appeared at the Stoneham Lane end of Ethelburt Avenue and it soon became clear that it was likely abandoned. While the car itself posed no immediate danger, such vehicles make parking more difficult for residents and their visitors and attract antisocial behaviour. In this particular instance the car was also damaging the grass verge.
Getting the car removed turned out to be more complicated than expected. You first have to apply to the DVLA for the name and address of the registered keeper and we were only able to do this because we own the land. The agency is somewhat pernickety – understandably given privacy concerns – but its processes in this area are also rather antiquated. For example, it doesn’t accept online applications for one-off requests and, even though we’re living in the twenty-first century, the relevant fee can only be paid via a cheque or postal order. After surmounting a few bureaucratic hurdles, we finally obtained details of the registered keeper. Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, he proved elusive – it seems he was no longer living at his registered address and was uncontactable.
The next stage, therefore, was to work with Southampton City Council, who have the legal powers to deal with abandoned vehicles once the registered keeper has been identified. This proved much more straightforward and we are grateful to the Council for getting the car removed and destroyed. Now that we have successfully navigated the entire process, dealing with any other cars abandoned on our land should proceed much more rapidly.
Recently, we dealt with another issue involving vehicles being left in Ethelburt Avenue without permission. In this case, two untaxed BMWs were being stored there by a car trader. Thanks to some deft detective work by Dan Hopgood, one of the cars was spotted for sale on Gumtree and we were able to contact the trader to get both vehicles removed. It’s unlikely that he will store other cars on our land in the future.
If you notice any cars that appear to be abandoned or that are being stored on the private land of the Estate by non-resident vendors, please let Herbert Collins Estates Ltd. know as soon as possible (email hcel@herbertcollins.co.uk) so we can deal with the issue promptly.