Police crack down on kerbside car dealers

The action is aimed at reducing the number of rogue traders whose vehicles for sale line many roads.

Councillors have agreed to adopt a hard-hitting notice being issued by Havant council to warn those putting vehicles up for sale that they face going to court.

They have also decided that yellow lines should be painted for an unspecified pilot period along kerbs used for car sales.

The action by the joint western Arun area committee follows a series of complaints to councillors from residents near sites frequently used for the practice.

Cllr Simon McDougall said Chalcraft Lane was a particular hot spot for on-street sales.

A resident had logged 75 vehicles being sold there in its two laybys in just four months. The parking spaces in front of the Royal Parade shops in Chichester Road were also frequently used for selling.

'It is a persistent problem. I have been a county councillor for almost two and a half years. Never a month goes by without me having a complaint about this,' he stated.

'People have been dealing in cars at 1am and 2am. These are totally unsocial hours and are really affecting other peoples' quality of life.

'The problem is not the individual trying to sell a car. There are definitely dealers operating in that area who know exactly what the law is and how to get away with what they are doing.'

County councillor Mike Coleman said he expected vehicle sales on roads would soon become the number one complaint residents would be making.

'This situation is becoming a nightmare. The problem has already taken over from grass cutting in my mailbag,' he stated.

Arun District Council leader Cllr Gill Brown stated: 'We certainly have to do something about this. I am getting inundated with complaints.'

Any effort to get rid of the traders from main roads merely pushed them on to smaller routes, she explained.

She said the only way was to follow the example of Havant.

The council in the Hampshire town has used the law to change the status of certain streets into what is known as consent streets.

These require anyone selling goods in them to obtain a consent to trade licence from the local council.

Anyone who trades without a consent can be prosecuted. The current fine if found guilty is up to 5,000.

Consent streets are one of three types of trading controls allowed by the 1982 Local Government Act. They can cover every road in a town or a specified area. Plenty of other highways laws exist but few relate to roadworthy vehicles for sale. They can also be overcome by dealers who use multiple phones '“ 16 to 17 was mentioned '“ to make it difficult to prove they are running a business.