A small but determined band of residents say they have won their battle against the embassy next door which they accused of clogging their quiet street with cars.
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They also said the embassy of the United Arab Emirates had built a tall security fence which jarred with the genteel tone of their residential neighbourhood.
The saga of the un-neighbourly dispute on Bulwarra Close in O'Malley has drawn in an army of lawyers as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Supreme Court and the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal also became involved in the spat which went on for three years.
At issue was whether the rented diplomatic property, categorised as a residential building, could also be used as an embassy.
Neighbours also said the security fence and guard's post at the front didn't have planning permission.
The dispute started in December, 2016. Residents, representatives of the embassy, the building's owners and the ACT government met outside - to no conclusion.
With no resolution after months of meetings, residents took their grievance to an ACT tribunal which decided that the occupiers (the crown lessee) did not have permission to use the place as anything but a residence.
In the legalese of the judgement: "The crown lessee for the land is directed to demolish the structures front fence located along the perimeter and in front of the building line, gate and security guard post that has been constructed without development plan approval or permission required under a territory law."
The ruling has now gone through a string of other tribunals and courts and been upheld.
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One of the prime movers among the neighbours, Mandy Harris, said some of the fence had now been taken down but not the main part.
She said she wanted the ACT government to enforce the ruling.
We want the ACT government to look at all the other residential properties to enforce the rule that they are only used as residences.
- Mandy Harris
There was a wider issue at stake, she said.
About a dozen diplomatic premises in Canberra only have planning permission to be residences and not the full, working office with the parking needs which that entails, she said.
She cites Serbia as an example of how they should behave. Its ambassador lives nearby in the residence and a single office worker comes there to work - and that, she maintained, was fine.
But strings of cars outside other buildings described as "embassies" or "cultural centres" was not fine, she said.
"We want the ACT government to look at all the other residential properties to enforce the rule that they are only used as residences."
The UAE ambassador was not available for comment but it's understood that they have been planning to build a new embassy on a bigger site and that would stop the clash with the current neighbours.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has tried to mediate between the embassy and the un-neighbourly neighbours.
An email from DFAT to Ms Harris said that the ambassador had been asked to "remind staff of the need to park only in designated parking spots and to be aware of residents' needs."
The ambassador had replied that he was keen to resolve the matter.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
