Campaigner bids to save classics sentenced to death in 2009 cull
The Petition's supporters want the release of cars still being kept in storage years after the scrappage scheme ended. Under the Government-backed initiative 45 classic Jaguar XJSs, 655 Minis and 572 MGs were scrapped.
A new petition has gone online to try to save thousands of classics doomed in the 2009 Scrappage Scheme cull. They are said to be still waiting to be crushed.
Jake Dormer, from Princes Risborough, Bucks, launched the appeal after seeing internet images of hundreds of Minis, Jaguars, Porsches and Mazdas at a site in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire.
Jake says: ‘Many of these cars are a huge part of British motoring history. Cars such as Minis, Triumphs, Rovers and Jaguars, among many others, are iconic and shouldn’t be scrapped. If we get enough support we will be able to make a difference. Let’s save those classics!’
So far, the change.org petition has accrued nearly 19,000 signatures in its first week, although transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, to whom the appeal is directed, is not obliged to respond.
The 2009 Government-backed Scrappage Scheme allowed anyone who had owned a 10 year old or older car (and who had owned it for at least a year) to trade it in at a franchised dealership for a new car, and get £2000 off the asking price. Under the scheme all cars traded in had to be scrapped. After nearly a year, 400,000 cars were sent for recycling.
Classics such as Peugeot 205 GTIs, Porsche 944s and various Ford Escorts (many of which will have increased exponentially in value) were all put in the pile. One typical comment on the petition website is from Sheila Nicoll. She says: ‘The initial project was a disgusting waste in the first place. They must be saved.'