Woman in Scotland facing Rs 19 Lakh fine after painting her front door pink; Here's why

In a bizarre incident, Miranda Dickson, a 48-year-old resident of Edinburgh's New Town Area, Scotland, has been asked to pay a hefty fine of 20,000 Pounds (Rs 19 lakh) for repainting her Georgian door pink. She painted the door as a part of the renovation of her house.

Miranda, a mother of two, inherited the house from her parents back in 2019. The city council filed a complaint against her, stating that the door was "not in keeping with the historic character" of the area. The Edinburgh city council of Scotland informed her that the colour of the door must be "dark and muted", keeping up with Georgian spirit. Reacting to the row, Miranda said that the complaint was "malicious and petty". Miranda took to Instagram and shared a picture of the pink door with the caption, "Spooky Season #7DaysUntilHalloween 🎃 And, yes my door is still pink. #SaveThePinkDoor". 

New Town area falls under the UNESCO World Heritage conservation area

Miranda Dickson claimed that the letter sent to her by the Edinburgh authorities stated that the door was "bright pink", but in fact, it was "light pink". She also alleged that in the letter she was directed to paint the door white, which goes against the guidelines of dark and muted.

"It's ludicrous and the absolutely absurd thing is when I asked the council about the other doors in the area they said they would take action if they received a complaint", she added. In response, she posted a collage of all the bright doors in her neighbourhood which were far from "muted". She posted the collage on Instagram with the caption, "Here’s a new fun game …. Guess which one of these Edinburgh New Town Georgian front doors isn’t an ‘appropriate, muted colour’ according to the Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas Guidelines….." 

Miranda's home comes under Edinburgh's New Town’s World Heritage conservation area. This implies that if someone intends to make changes in the properties there, they must take permission from the authorities before they go ahead. As per the authorities, she received a notice because she did not ask for permission and did not repaint her door. Miranda now intends to paint the door in dark red colour. The UNESCO World Heritage Status was granted to the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh in 1995.

Image: Instagram/thehouseatdrummondplace