Raised £180 so far
A law lecturer locked in a two-year legal battle over a £60 parking ticket plans to take action against the city council that fined him, and hopes the generosity of others will fund the judicial review.
Andrew Newell, a lecturer in law, business and hospitality at Edinburgh College, woke one February morning in 2017, to find the charge slapped on the windscreen of his Vauxhall Vectra. He had allegedly parked on the pavement outside his Pilrig Heights flat in Edinburgh.
The livid law lecturer disputed the charge, arguing he had parked on a different patch of tarmac to the pavement (pictured below). He even submitted photos which, he said, proved the area where he left his car shared the same ‘brick design’ as parking bays — as opposed to the ‘dark tarmac’ pavements. Edinburgh city council upheld the fine, which was subsequently reviewed and stayed by the Parking and Bus Lane Tribunal for Scotland. Newell then forked out the £60 fine.
Two failed appeals later, and after selling the car in question, the determined lecturer now plans to bring a judicial review.
Newell set up a crowdfunding page a fortnight ago in an attempt to raise £15,000 to cover the costs for the action. So far, the 33-year-old Edinburgh Napier law grad, has only mustered £180.
“With parking in Edinburgh becoming the most expensive in Scotland and the parking enforcement officers issuing Penalty Charge notices with unbridled enthusiasm, I feel it is time to review the appeals procedure to ensure a fair and impartial hearing is provided to the public,” he writes.
Newell, who describes himself as “a very focused, driven, extravert who is determined to achieve the high goals I personally set,” on his LinkedIn, is optimistic about raising the cash required. “I’m sure there are other people in Edinburgh who’ve been in a similar position,” he told Edinburgh Evening News. “Hopefully they’ll contribute.”
A spokesperson for the city council said: “We are satisfied that the parking ticket was issued correctly and two separate independent appeals have fully vindicated this.”
