A food truck owner says he is losing days of work because of Bristol Airport holidaymakers' cars being left parked in a lay-by on the A38, in the same spot where he has been running his business from for more than 20 years. Chris Timothy told Bristol Live that he pays around £500 a quarter for a licence to trade in the lay-by, but the parking situation has cost him the last three bank holidays worth of business.
He said: "I pay North Somerset Council £500 a quarter to be there and the amount of times I've had to turn around and come home because I can't get in. But I have no rights in the lay-by. I pay a fee to trade in the lay-by but what annoys me is that these (parking) companies are trading from the lay-by but they're not paying.
"They're charging people to park their cars there. Some days when I arrive in the morning there are too many cars to get in - on one occasion this week I counted 14, so I haven't been able to trade there and instead I've simply got to check how many cars are there to see if I can get in the next day.
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"It's cost me the last three bank holidays because bank holidays mean obviously the airport is busy. And when the airport is busy, the car park is busy and it means they've got nowhere to park the cars, so they just park them in the lay-by.
"I've been there 23 years and traded from it a good 15 years before you had to have a licence. Now it's got to the stage where, coming up to the summer, I know it's going to be impossible to park."
David Green, who is a friend of Mr Timothy and a regular customer at the food truck, had recently photographed the parking issue in the lay-by where holidaymakers' cars have been left by the side of the road. He said he was worried about the safety issues and says that, Mr Timothy has to park in a space which is 'less safe and convenient' - while lorry drivers 'cannot use the lay-by for a stay over'.
Mr Timothy said that two other lay-bys, further up the road from the one he uses, are also being used by parking companies. He said that normally each of those lay-bys would take five cars, however on Saturday (May 20) he counted nine vehicles in one and six in the other, in addition to the cars in his lay-by.
He added that workers from the companies will show up regularly each day and park multiple cars. Mr Timothy said he has spoken to North Somerset Council about the issue, but so far nothing has changed.
He added: "People aren't going to pay them £150 to park their car in what's supposed to be secure parking and then later find out it's been parked in a lay-by on the side of the A38.
"I've been in touch with the council and my local councillor, who said they would be in touch with the police - that was three weeks ago and nothing has happened since," he added. Bristol Live has approached North Somerset Council for comment.
Response from Bristol Airport
A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: "Bristol Airport is aware of off-site Meet and Greet and other car park providers parking customers cars in fields, laybys and in villages surrounding the Airport. These are independent businesses entirely unconnected with Bristol Airport and we have no control nor influence over the services provided by these companies.
“Bristol Airport advises all customers for peace of mind and confidence when flying from Bristol to use the range of on-site car parking options available, including a Meet and Greet service by booking via Bristol Airport’s website. All of our car parks are located on site, equipped with security and CCTV, automatic number plate recognition, and are served by a courtesy bus to and from the terminal operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Customers can guarantee their vehicle will be parked on site in an official Bristol Airport car park more information visit the website: Bristol Airport Parking: Official Long & Short Stay Car Parks."
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