**Holidaymakers Warned After Unauthorised Airport Car Parks Lead to Damaged Vehicles and Mysterious Mileage Increases**
Holidaymakers travelling from Bristol Airport have reported returning from their trips to find their cars damaged and showing bizarre, unexplained increases in mileage, after leaving their vehicles with unauthorised airport parking operators. In response, North Somerset Council has launched a stringent crackdown on these so-called ‘rogue’ car parks that have been popping up in fields and other unapproved sites around the airport, causing distress to travellers and disruption to rural communities.
The issue was first brought to light when residents and holidaymakers began noticing that fields near Bristol Airport were being transformed into makeshift car parks, often without planning permission or adequate security for the vehicles parked there. Many customers, looking for affordable parking options online, had no idea their cars would be left unprotected—or even, in some cases, abandoned on quiet rural roads.
North Somerset Council has stepped up enforcement in hopes of tackling what it described as an issue “blighting the countryside” and leaving both residents and visitors at risk. In a bid to address the growing problem, Bristol Airport itself contributed £50,000 last year to help fund a dedicated Planning and Parking Enforcement Officer. An additional £50,000 has now been earmarked to keep the initiative running for another year.
The impact of these efforts is already becoming apparent. In the past twelve months, council enforcement officers have conducted more than 600 site visits, investigating at least 49 separate cases of unauthorised airport parking. The council has issued 17 Planning Contravention or Section 330 Notices—demanding legal information about land ownership, which owners are legally obliged to provide—and has handed out 13 enforcement notices where breaches were found.
Successful action has already been taken at several sites, such as an agricultural field near Hyatts Wood Road, once capable of holding as many as 1,500 cars. After council intervention, this field has now been cleared of parked vehicles and returned to its previous use. In total, enforcement notices have been issued at 10 unauthorised car parks across the area, many of which boasted spaces for hundreds—sometimes thousands—of cars. Sites included land near Newditch Farm (capacity: 560 cars), an area south of Bridgwater Road (capacity: over 1,900 cars), and land west of Bridle Cottage (capacity: more than 900 cars), among others.
Legal restrictions mean these fields can now only be used for parking a maximum of 28 days per year; exceeding this quota would be a criminal offence. Other notable sites cleared include land and buildings at Dial Lane, which together could have hosted around 125 cars, and additional locations off Long Lane and Potters Hill.
The crackdown has not been limited to fields and farmland. A residential property on Downside Road was also found to be operating as an unauthorised car park. After prosecution, the operator pleaded guilty at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court, receiving a fine and a formal order to pay associated costs. The site has since been cleared, and parking operations there have ceased.
The council’s Trading Standards team has issued renewed advice to anyone planning to fly from Bristol Airport: be extremely cautious when booking airport parking via the internet. The area has seen repeated cases where cars have been left at risk—sometimes even lost by the operators, leaving returning travellers stranded and searching for their missing vehicles.
Matt Lenny, North Somerset Council’s Director of Healthy and Sustainable Communities, stressed the importance of checking parking operators for legitimate accreditations, such as the Park Mark from the British Parking Association. “It’s all about making sure you’re confident that the provider is good before you start, and it’s all about what you do before you book,” he said. Lenny also urged potential customers to thoroughly read the terms and conditions and look for independent reviews.
Bristol Airport and North Somerset Council are now organising meetings with local parish councils to address problem hotspots and ensure that residents’ concerns are heard. A larger community parking meeting is scheduled later this month, aiming to bring together representatives from all parishes around the airport to develop coordinated solutions.
As tourism returns and demand for airport parking grows, authorities hope that increased vigilance from travellers—combined with robust enforcement—will put an end to these unauthorised operations and restore confidence in leaving vehicles near Bristol Airport. For now, the message is clear: exercise caution, do your research, and always choose approved parking providers.