A car park near Bristol Airport, known as Yew Tree Paddocks on Downside Road, has been operating for nearly two decades but has now been deemed unlawful by North Somerset Council. Despite its long-standing use, the site has been in breach of an enforcement notice issued back in 2006.
Yew Tree Paddocks is one of several car parks established by local residents in Lulsgate Bottom, the village adjacent to Bristol Airport. The woman who runs the car park recently sought to obtain a certificate of lawfulness from the council to formalise the site’s status. She argued that the car park qualified for legal use as it had been in continuous operation for over ten years.
However, North Somerset Council clarified that the site remains subject to an enforcement notice issued in 2006, which has never been revoked or expired. The council stated that the notice remains in force, rendering the current use unlawful.
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The operator’s application acknowledged the historic enforcement notice but claimed the present car park operation began around 2014 on a modest scale. It described how customers often parked via a driveway before vehicles were moved into adjacent field areas, highlighting the close proximity to the airport which allowed some customers to walk to flights.
The application included nearly one hundred pages of supporting information, including testimonials from regular users over the past twelve years. One user stated that they had used the car park multiple times annually since 2014 or 2015, relying on its convenience and recommending it to friends and family. Another expressed that they consistently parked there when travelling between Ireland and the UK, praising its reliability as part of their routine.
North Somerset Council, which has intensified efforts in recent years to clamp down on unauthorised airport car parks, rejected the application. Since 2024, it has issued 36 enforcement notices and conducted over 1,000 site visits related to unauthorised car parks near the airport.
In refusing the application, the council said: “The local planning authority is satisfied that the use claimed is in breach of an extant enforcement notice. As the use cannot be lawful whilst the enforcement notice remains in force, the application fails to satisfy the requirements of section 191 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The information is sufficiently precise and unambiguous and accordingly the application is refused. A certificate of lawfulness should not be granted.”