Working for the clampdown

But where was the most clamped street in town?

You’ve guessed it: Spencer Road.

Seven vehicles were clamped in the busy Waterside bottle-neck over the six year period.

Added to the seven clampings on Spencer Road there were a further six clampings in the small and largely residential area at the North Eastern end of the thoroughfare.

Carlin Terrace, Cross Street, Dervock Place, Ben Varden Avenue, the Railway Yard Car Park and Bond’s Hill all witnessed a clamping each.

Thus, this relatively small geographical area of the Waterside accounted for 13 clampings: 13 per cent of the 99 total.

Figures released by the Department of Regional Development (DRD) under the Freedom of Information legislation show that Spencer Road was closely followed, however, by Bishop Street and the Strand Road, where six vehicles were clamped over the same period.

Five vehicles were clamped in Queen Street.

More surprisingly, perhaps, Sperrin Park in Nelson Drive was up there with two city centre hotspots, The Diamond and Great James Street: four cars were clamped in each of these areas.

Sperrin Park, therefore, bears the title of the most clamped residential street in Londonderry.

Most of the streets where there were multiple clampings, occurred in and around the city centre.

There were three clampings each in Bridge Street, Society Street, Pump Street, Carlisle Road and Victoria Market.

And there were two each in Long Tower Court, Fountain Street, Artillery Street, Clarence Avenue, John Street and Abercorn Road.

Across the city, 99 vehicles were clamped. Sixty-one were eventually declamped on the street upon payment of the outstanding dues.

But 13 were simply listed as having been impounded with no qualification, four were declamped illegally by the drivers themselves, and two were crushed.

Nineteen were listed by the DRD as having been released. whether from the pound or otherwise, upon payment of dues.

A DRD spokesperson explained: “When a vehicle is clamped for recovery of PCN debt, it will be ‘released’ or ‘declamped’ at the same location when the debt is paid. There is a £40 fee at this stage.

“If the debt is not paid, the vehicle will be removed to the ‘pound’ (a secure storage facility) and held there until such times as the debt plus applicable fees is paid, or if payment is not made, the vehicle will be crushed. When a vehicle is removed to the pound, a fee of £105 is applied, plus a daily storage fee of £12.

“When a vehicle has been in the pound for 7 days, the registered keeper will be advised in writing that if the debt remains unpaid, the vehicle will be crushed after a further 21 days. The vehicle will not be crushed until it has been in the pound for at least 28 days.

“NSL Services Group are the enforcement contractor.”