Football Club in Car Park Dispute At Stansted Airport

During a court case in June of this year, Bradley Goodwin and Luigi Del Basso from Bishops Stortford Football Club Ltd admitted operating an illegal car parking scheme at Stansted Airport. The men were taken to court after they ignored an enforcement notice from East Herts Council ordering them to stop operating their business, BSFC.  

It is estimated that they were making approximately £6,500 a day during peak times and first started when the football club was allowed to create a new stadium on greenbelt land. The area is close to the airport so was an ideal place to offer extra parking facilities.

In January 2003, the council issued an enforcement notice saying that there was no need for the car park scheme as there was already enough parking at Stansted Airport. As well as this, the car park was on greenbelt land. The club appealed the notice and as a result the case went before a public enquiry.

In October of the same year, an inspector upheld the enforcement but gave the club six months to comply with it. Again, the club appealed this decision and it went before the High Court in London in February 2004. The appeal was dismissed once again and the club was given six months to wind down the business.

The club decided to take matters into their own hands and ignore the ruling. They continued to operate the business into late 2004. However, there are reports that they continued trading up until earlier this year. As well as this, there is still a company operating as BSFC although there is no information available as to where the cars are being parked.

Image belongs to: Felipe Barrientos. Taken from: http://www.flickr.com

Parking Changes at Birmingham Airport

Parking at Birmingham Airport has been changed following the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport several months ago. The changes have been introduced following the closure of roads at the front of its terminal buildings and the terrorist attack which resulting in restricted access to the airport.

Since the attempted terrorist attacks in Glasgow and London, Birmingham Airport’s set-down roads have remained closed at the front of the Terminals. For the duration of this time the existing short-stay car park has been used as a temporary measure for dropping off passengers. This facility was free for drivers for a period of 10 minutes so they could efficiently drop off their passengers. However, the new parking rules which came into effect on 2^nd August mean that this has been withdrawn.

The airport has announced that it will not be reopening its roads at the front of its terminal buildings and has adopted a new scheme instead. The new “Rapid Drop-off” area which is close to terminals one and two has angered many people who now have to pay to drop friends and family off. Whereas before drivers could drop people off outside the terminal for free, they now have to pay £1 for 20 minutes and then £3 for every 15 minutes after that. This means that drivers are going to have to pay a very pricey £4 for just over half an hour of parking at Birmingham Airport.

There is an option where you can park for free for 30 minutes but people feel that it isn’t a realistic option. Birmingham Airport has set up free drop-off facilities in the long stay car park, with free buses regularly going to and from the terminal buildings. However, with a transfer time of 10 minutes each way, it is unlikely that anyone will be back at their car within half an hour.  

The airport say that the reasons for these changes are in order to improve the flow of traffic on the approach roads to the terminals, enable people to get in and out of airport traffic quickly and help them to unload from vehicles safely. Either way it looks like people are going to have to be prepared to pay large amounts for parking at Birmingham Airport.

Image belongs to: Christian Bachellier. Taken from: www.flickr.com 

Newcastle Airport Fight for Development

Plans to build a new business park at Newcastle Airport have created debate between residents, councillors and MPs in the local area. The scheme, which will cost £20 million to implement, includes six three-storey buildings and 465 car parking spaces being built.  

The proposal has divided the community and business leaders over whether it would be a good idea or not and is due to go before councillors this week.

People in favour of the buildings and car park being built have argued that the scheme has plenty of economic benefits and will create 1,600 jobs. The North East Chamber of Commerce, local MPs and the executive mayor of neighbouring North Tyneside feel that the extensions are crucial to the future success of the airport. They also point out that a similar scheme at Durham Tess Valley Airport was granted planning permission so there’s no reason why Newcastle Airport shouldn’t be given the same privilege. Another major advantage of the scheme would be that extra, much needed parking at Newcastle Airport would be made available. 

However, others are objecting the development and Newcastle City Council has received over 100 objections regarding the scheme.  Residents are concerned about traffic, noise, pollution, loss of green space and the impact it’s going to have on wildlife.

A similar application was turned down by the council a year ago because it breached planning guidelines stipulating that only airport-related businesses should be allowed on the land. However, developers have assured the council that all businesses will be airport-related. They also claim that local roads can cope with the traffic and the scheme will not have a significant impact on other office developments and will complement other schemes in the area.

Image belongs to: Felipe Barrientos. Taken from: http://www.flickr.com

Heathrow Airport Increases Security

Heathrow Airport will become the first airport in the UK to implement radical new steps in an attempt to increase and improve security. All British Airways’ domestic and international flights from Terminal 5, which opens in March next year, will require passengers to provide biometric information before boarding their flight. Such information includes fingerprint testing and facial scans which will validate the identity of passengers.

The main purpose of the new system is to assist border and immigration control when domestic and non-domestic passengers mix in the same terminal. As well as this, staff feel that it will definitely improve security and stop people from swapping tickets and getting on flights that they’re not supposed to.

The new Terminal 5 building, which is costing £4.3 billion to build, has been predicted to increase the number of passengers travelling to and from the airport by another 30 million a year. The airport is already the largest in the UK with around 70 million flyers using it in 2006. Depending on the success of this new system it may be used in other terminals at Heathrow Airport in the near future.

Terminal 5 will be used exclusively by British Airways and it is hoped that it will help improve the travel experience for passengers after recent security and congestion problems at Heathrow. There are high expectations for the terminal and a lot of pressure for it to be completed on time. With 2.3 million metres of cabling, 163 systems, 546 interfaces, more than 2,000 PCs, 5,000 mobile devices and 96 self-service kiosks there certainly is a lot to bring together.

As the world’s busiest international airport already, the addition of an extra terminal has unsurprisingly upset locals and environmentalists. With the tarmacked area alone being the equivalent to 200 miles of three lane motorway and West London being the most congested part of the South East, campaigners have been fighting hard to voice their disagreements with the extension.

It is thought that an extra 21,500 car parking spaces will be needed, however, nothing has been mentioned yet about whether or not the facilities for parking at Heathrow Airport will be increased.

Image belongs to: Esteban De Sousa Seibane. Taken from: http://www.flickr.com

How secure is airport parking?

Many people consider their cars to be their pride and joy so it’s not surprising that you’re going to want to ensure you’re leaving it in the best hands when you are trusting it with airport parking. A recent episode of Watchdog shook people’s faith in car valeting services available at airports. A tracking device secretly hidden in cars revealed that Pink Meet & Greet was a rogue company who were taking people for a ride, quite literally.

It was revealed that despite promises of safe and secure parking, people’s vehicles were in fact only in secure compounds for an average of two out of five days with this airport parking service. For the remaining time cars were passed between supermarket car parks and streets. Hardly the kind of service you expect for about £75 a week.  As if this wasn’t enough, cars were being driven at speeds of over 100 mph and there were reports of illegal substances and cds that didn’t belong to the owners being found in cars.

There is no need to write off companies that offer airport parking though. There are some that provide very good services, are reliable and reasonably priced. The best way to ensure you are getting value for money and are with a genuine company is to take following steps before committing to anything.

Make sure you thoroughly check out the company you are planning to use before committing to anything when looking for airport parking. If they are a genuine company they should be a member of the Independent Airport Park and Ride Association (IAPRA). This should give you a good indication that you will be leaving your vehicle in safe hands.

Opt for organisations who have been awarded the Safer Parking Award which is granted by the police after a detailed risk assessment. To check for registration visit www.saferparking.com

Watch out for companies such as Airport Car Parking Direct who claim to have the AA Gold Standard award for security. This scheme was terminated over five years ago so any company displaying the award should be reported.  

Image belongs to: Esteban De Sousa Seibane. Taken from: http://www.flickr.com