Edinburgh woman faces £20,000 fine for painting her front door pink saying rules are ‘30 years out of date’

A mum of two faces a hefty fine after painting the front door of her Edinburgh home pale pink

A woman who faces a £20,000 fine for painting her front door pink has criticised the council and claims the rules are ‘30 years out of date.’ Mum of two, Miranda Dickson got the front door of her Georgian home located in Edinburgh professionally painted with pink Dulux paint last year as part of a renovation.

But now Edinburgh Council has asked her to paint the door of the home, which sits in Edinburgh New Town’s World Heritage conservation area back to a muted white gloss colour to fit in with its planning rules. The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995 which means there are rules around what changes can be made to properties in the area.

However, Ms Dickson, who inherited the property in 2019 believes it is a ‘malicious and "petty’ complaint and says the diktat is out of sync with the City of Edinburgh Council’s own planning rules. She questions whether the rules that were implemented 30 years ago should still be in place.

Ms Dickson said: "There’s cities in the UK like Bristol, Notting Hill and Harrogate which are brightly coloured. Coming home and seeing my front door gives me joy, I’m proud of it and it’s my house, I own it.

"Georgians loved pink - in that era, all the windows were painted grey or black, and people had different coloured front doors. Do we feel as a society that what was appropriate 30 years ago is appropriate to now?”

Miranda Dickson and her pink front door in Edinburgh

She claims that she’s had “overwhelming support” from people passing by, and Instagrammers are often snapping pictures of the pink front door, which has its own social media account.

But Ms Dickson faces a £2,000 fine unless she removes the ‘unauthorised’ paint, and could be hit with a £20,000 fine if she is charged with an offence of breaching rules in the conservation area.

Edinburgh Council has been approached for comment.