Classic car ‘battery’ clogs Croydon street with rusted vehicles

Croydon Council has been branded “weak” for failing to take action against classic cars that have been clogging the streets of Thornton Heath for years. Residents claim the council’s inability to move cars permanently has allowed the landlord to ‘hoard’ vehicles and act as if they can do as they like, regardless of the effect on neighbours.

All the classic cars are claimed to belong to the same person, a former Norbury Road resident who has now moved on but left a number of vehicles behind. An attempt to clean them up after the council identified them as ‘abandoned’ failed when the former resident claimed them all as his own, meaning they could not be classed as derelict.

The vast collection of classic cars, bikes and even a boat, many of which have rusted, have taken up space on Livingstone Road and Norbury Road for years, according to residents. Locals claim that at any given time in the past 10-20 years there have been around 18 different vehicles parked on the two roads and driveway of the property it occupied, which has since been blocked off.

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Residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they were fed up. According to Thornton Heath councilor Karen Jewitt, many of the cars are not compatible and parked illegally.

On a visit to the area last week, a Livingstone Road resident told LDRS: “There are people on this road saying it’s been happening for 20 years. Everyone is fed up.

“People come down and take pictures of the cars all the time because they think they’re collectibles. They’re not, they’re just falling apart.”

A young resident who lives on Norbury Road told LDRS: “I’ve been here most of my life and I’ve always known him as that man on the corner. He parks his cars wherever people allow him. It doesn’t mean you’re enabling them by giving them permission, just that they won’t make a fuss.”

Some of the cars reported to belong to him are parked in front of each other and some are double parked, making the road narrower. This series of rusted cars has led to residents worrying that emergency service vehicles will not be able to access nearby properties properly.

The Livingstone Road resident said: “It’s difficult trying to get a fire engine or an ambulance up and down this road as it also has cars driving nearby. Fire engines have been trying to get here and can’t, or it takes forever.

“Even garbage vans are scrambling and they’ve had a fight with him because they might have accidentally clipped one of his cars. People even came to try to put yellow lines on (the road) for parking and he (allegedly) refused to move. the cars.”

Many residents point the finger at Croydon Council for its lack of action over the years. The Livingstone Road resident added: “As much as this guy is a nuisance, this is Croydon’s fault.”

Posts by residents complaining about the problem on a Thornton Heath community Facebook page date back to at least 2019. Residents say the council has previously taken some cars off the road, only for them to return in the following months.

More recently, the council put removal notices on each of its cars parked on the roadway, but the cars have not been removed, however the notices appear to have been removed.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “In early June 2024, the council, in response to complaints from local residents, took action to tackle abandoned vehicles on the public road.

“The owner of these vehicles has claimed all of the cars identified by the council, which has prevented us from removing them as part of the abandoned vehicle process. The Council is now proactively seeking alternative arrangements to resolve this issue.”

A prison behind the man’s former address, which used to house carpets when the building was a commercial space, is another cause for concern among residents who are worried about a fire risk from what they say is a huge pile of disorder. contained including flammable materials.

As the wait continues for effective action to be taken, some have given up hope. Another Thornton Heath resident on his way to the high street told the LDRS: “These cars are a nightmare but I can’t see Croydon doing anything about it.”

LDRS attempted to reach the former resident for comment, but was unsuccessful. Croydon Council recently received a planning application to convert the property into three one-bedroom flats with a two-storey rear extension and a decision is pending.

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