A car park near Bristol Airport, known as Yew Tree Paddocks on Downside Road, has operated for nearly 20 years but has been found to be in breach of a council enforcement notice throughout its operation.
Located in Lulsgate Bottom, the village adjacent to the airport, Yew Tree Paddocks is one of several local car parks servicing the area. The current operator recently applied to North Somerset Council for a certificate of lawfulness to regularise the parking facility, believing that its long-standing use-exceeding ten years-would qualify it for exemption from enforcement action.
However, the council informed the operator that the car park has not been lawful since 2006 due to an existing enforcement notice against the site. This notice, issued by North Somerset Council for an earlier car park operation, remains in force and has never expired, thereby making the current use unlawful.
READ MORE: Valuable Handbags Stolen from Mulberry Factory Shop in Shepton Mallet
READ MORE: ‘Final designs nearly ready’ for wider bridge over River Tone
North Somerset Council has intensified its crackdown on unauthorised airport car parks in recent years, having issued 36 enforcement notices since 2024 and conducted over 1,000 site inspections in the previous year alone.
The operator’s application acknowledged the earlier enforcement action but characterised it as “historic,” maintaining that the current car park operation began around 2014 on a modest scale. The application detailed how customers initially used the driveway before vehicles were moved to different field areas, including a side field, with some customers walking to Bristol Airport due to the site’s close proximity.
The nearly 100-page application included testimonials from regular users dating back over a decade, praising the car park’s convenience and reliability. One customer stated they had used the site multiple times a year since 2014 or 2015 and recommended it to friends and family, noting they had “always understood the land to be operating as an airport parking facility.” Another expressed that the car park had become a “reliable place to park” and part of their regular travel routine between Ireland and the UK.
Despite these endorsements, North Somerset Council rejected the application, stating that the claimed use breaches an extant enforcement notice. Consequently, the council concluded that the use cannot be lawful while the enforcement notice remains in effect and refused the certificate of lawfulness under section 191 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The council described the information as sufficiently detailed and unambiguous to support the refusal.
This decision highlights the ongoing efforts by local authorities to regulate airport-related parking facilities and enforce planning restrictions to ensure compliance with legal requirements.