Revenue Raiser

I’m quite surprised that our local council here in Barrow haven’t cottoned on to the crafty idea that the London borough of Barnet has introduced. They have made it a bye-law that any car owner who advertises their car for sale in a public parking place is fined £100.

After all we must have hundreds of cars for sale littering certain roads in Barrow, what a money-spinner that would be at £100 a time.

I can see both sides of the argument, “for” being the fact that the vast majority of the cars offered for sale are actually owned by fly by night dodgy car dealers, and folk lose their parking spaces when these cars are dumped for days on end outside their doors. “Against” is the for sale sign in a car window any different than sign writing on a van, driving instructors car or even a taxi come to think of it?

Barnet council say the rule was introduced to keep parking space free for residents. A spokesman said: 'New parking contravention codes were introduced on April 4, 2007. 'A new code was introduced with the description of "using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering for sale or exposing for sale the goods when prohibited".