Airport Crackdown on unauthorised car parks

TRAVELLERS using Bristol Airport have been left with damaged cars and unexplained mileage after using unauthorised 'airport' car parks.

- Shaurya SHAURYA

Now North Somerset Council have been cracking down on the practice which has been "blighting" the countryside" and causing issues to locals.

The council's action comes after concerns were raised that fields near the airport were being used to park thousands of cars, causing issues with the local community, and also impacting holiday makers who were unaware of their cars being parked at these unauthorised locations.

Some of these vehicles had even been left out in the open on local roads without any safety.

Bristol Airport funds a planning and parking enforcement officer to tackle the parking issues around the airport. In June last year, the airport contributed £50,000 to help in hiring an officer for 12 months and an additional £50,000 is set to follow so that the role can continue.

This officer works in the planning enforcement team at North Somerset Council and regularly patrols and records findings, this has resulted in more than 600 site visits being made in the past year.

The actions taken by planning enforcement officers have so far include:

Investigation of 49 cases related to unauthorised airport parking.