Rolls-Royce towed in crackdown on ‘illegal parking’ outside five-star hotel
’The owners of the vehicles are so wealthy that fines barely register’
A Rolls-Royce was among a number of expensive cars towed away in a council crackdown against what it described as illegal parking outside a five-star hotel in London.
Westminster council said it has stepped up enforcement action against supercars parked illegally in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square, saying it has been “inundated” with complaints from residents about the parking of guests on the pavement outside the Chancery Rosewood hotel, which is found on the site of the former US Embassy.
The council dispatched a relocation vehicle to Grosvenor Square and picked up a blue Saudi-registered Rolls-Royce on Tuesday.
The luxury car was moved to another location several streets away. Other cars parked on the pavement outside the hotel were moved voluntarily by their owners after the council attended, the local authority said.
The Independent has contacted the Chancery Rosewood hotel for comment.
Westminster council said its usual approach of issuing penalty charge notices (PCNs) has proven to be ineffective. It said the cars were registered overseas, with a number having Saudi Arabian number plates.
A council spokesperson said: “The vehicles are foreign registered (the ones we photographed have Saudi number plates) so the chances of recovering the costs are virtually nil.
“And the owners of the vehicles, which include a Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, are so wealthy that fines barely register.”
Councillor Max Sullivan, cabinet member for streets, said: “Those on foot shouldn’t have to run a gauntlet of illegally and selfishly parked supercars when trying to walk around Westminster.
”That’s why we’ve used our relocation vehicle to physically move these cars out of the way. We will not tolerate dangerous pavement parking, whether it's a Lime bike or a Lamborghini.”