Council refuses to refund “illegal” parking fines

17 April 2008 The City of Edinburgh Council collected thousands of pounds of parking fines from cars parked outside the Ukrainian Consulate in Edinburgh over an eighteen month period from August 2006 to February 2008. The legal authority to collect fines stemmed from a temporary traffic order which expired on 19 August 2006.

Over that period many motorists were fined or even towed away so that diplomats from the former Soviet republic could park their vehicles with (ahem!) diplomatic impunity. However, there was no legal authority for them to do so. One disgruntled motorist is claiming others to contact the Council to demand a refund, while the City of Edinburgh argue that if you paid the fine at the time you obviously knew you were in the wrong even though, technically, you weren’t.

This prime parking place in Windsor Street, Edinburgh has now been bagged by the Scottish Government

• “Drivers urged to claim back fines” (BBC News) 17 April 2008
• Find the Ukrainian Consulate in Edinburgh on Google Maps – view the parking space from outer space!