Illegal Airport Car Parks Don’t Pay
Two men in Sussex have been ordered to pay over £50,000 for their illegal airport car park in Copthorne.
The patch of land, owned by Mr Imran Shahid and Mr Tariq Wasi, was converted without planning permission into a car park which was unauthorised by their airport – many travellers to Gatwick Airport used the facilities and as many as 800 vehicles were present at any one time.
Complaints came from the public which lead to the Mid Sussex District Council’s Planning Enforcement Team issuing the pair with a Stop Notice, which they ignored and continued to park cars in the lot. Largely due to their refusal to stop, the matter was then taken to the courts.
Their company, Airport Parking Limited, is now being prosecuted by the Surrey County Council and the Mid Sussex District Council, and has been served with a Confiscation Order.
The pair received a combined fine of £6000, a nominal sum of £100 and a Victim Surcharge of £120 – as well as Mid Sussex District Council’s costs amounting to £9500. Mr Shahid and Mr Wasi admitted that by ignoring the Stop Notice and running the car park for another eleven days they had benefitted by over £34,000, the full amount of which will be confiscated.
This isn’t the first time the company Airport Parking Limited have had trouble with the law; only in August they pleaded guilty to offences brought to them from Unfair Trading Regulations, as they had left cars unlocked in nearby fields as opposed to parking them securely, as their website had claimed. This resulted in a fine of £6000.
It just goes to show you that there are people out there trying to exploit the genuine need for affordable airport car parking – so be safe and only book car parking with the Park Mark!