A high value Rolls Royce registered in Saudi Arabia has been removed from Grosvenor Square as Westminster City Council intensified action against pavement parking in Mayfair.
The vehicle, valued at close to £250,000, was lifted from the square using a specialist relocation truck and moved several streets away. The council said the step formed part of a wider response to repeated complaints from local residents.
According to Westminster City Council, the issue is linked to guests staying at the Chancery Rosewood hotel, located on the former site of the US Embassy. The authority said cars had been left illegally on the pavement outside the hotel and that routine enforcement had failed to change behaviour. The Chancery Rosewood hotel was contacted for comment.
The council said penalty charge notices had not resolved the situation, particularly where vehicles were registered outside the UK. A relocation vehicle was therefore used to remove the Rolls Royce from Grosvenor Square.
Other vehicles parked on the footway nearby were moved by their owners without enforcement action on Tuesday, the council said.
Westminster City Council and Transport for London employ private agencies to pursue unpaid fines issued to European registered vehicles. However, the council said enforcement against cars from outside Europe presents significant challenges.
A council spokesperson said “the usual approach of issuing PCNs have proven to be ineffective.
“The vehicles are foreign registered – the ones we photographed have Saudi numberplates – so the chances of recovering the costs are virtually nil.
“And the owners of the vehicles, which include Rolls Royce and Lamborghinis, are so wealthy that fines barely register.”
Max Sullivan, cabinet member for streets at Westminster City Council, said the focus was on protecting pedestrian safety in busy areas such as Grosvenor Square.
“Those on foot shouldn’t have to run a gauntlet of illegally and selfishly parked supercars when trying to walk around Westminster.
“We will not tolerate dangerous pavement parking, whether it’s a Lime bike or a Lamborghini.”
