- Published
An unauthorised car park near Stansted Airport has grown by nearly two-thirds since it was served with an enforcement notice to shut, a BBC investigation has found.
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investigation → publish → notice
The facility was set up in early 2025 at New Farm, near the village of Elsenham, Essex, offering an alternative, cheaper option to nearby Stansted Airport.
But customers described scenes of "mayhem" when they returned from holiday to find overcrowded transport, along with damaged and dirty cars and long waits for collection.
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they → set → collection
The business directors and a service provider linked to the site have not responded to requests for comment and Uttlesford District Council, which issued the notice, said it would continue to monitor until an appeal was heard.
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appeal → link → notice
Mark Reardon, from near Swaffham, Norfolk, said he had been shocked by the condition of his vehicle held at the car park after returning from a family holiday in Spain in June.
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he → say → June
"The seats had all been laid down.
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seats → lay → ?
It looked like someone had been sleeping in it because we had blankets in the car and they'd all been moved," he said.
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he → look → car
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His rear number plate was sitting on his windscreen and his vehicle had suffered damage, including a broken door handle and scrape marks.
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vehicle → sit → handle
"I just don't know how they can run a place like this.
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they → know → this
It was absolute mayhem," he said.
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he → say → ?
The New Farm site covers about seven acres (three hectares) and was formerly agricultural land.
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site → cover → acres
The land was rapidly converted into a car park without permission for a change of use and it can now hold up to 1,000 cars at a time.
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it → convert → time
Uttlesford District Council issued an enforcement notice last summer to the occupier at New Farm ordering the "unauthorised use of the site to stop".
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Council → issue → site
Aurangzaib Cheema, who was listed as an owner of SC Parking Ltd on Companies House, appealed the notice.
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who → list → notice
They told the council the firm had future bookings to honour and cancelling them would have a detrimental impact on the company's income.
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cancelling → tell → income
The appeal means it can continue trading until the case is heard by the Planning Inspectorate, which is not expected before 2027.
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which → mean → 4
Jane Fuller, from Hadleigh, Suffolk, said her daughter's car had been left unlocked for 22 hours in April.
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car → say → April
"My daughter has an app on her phone and she managed to lock it from Croatia," she said.
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she → have → Croatia
"When we eventually got back to the car park, we had to hunt for it in the dark.
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we → get → dark
We found it parked on top of rubble.
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it → find → rubble
It was a shocking experience," she added.
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she → add → ?
Deb Jordan, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, said the transport to the car park from the airport in May with her family had been "an absolute hazard".
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transport → say → family
She said passengers had been left stranded at Stansted Airport for more than three hours after landing.
"
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passengers → say → landing
They piled two busloads of angry people onto one small transit minibus," she said.
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she → pile → minibus
"Luggage was piled on top of passengers.
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Luggage → pile → passengers
I had a pushchair wedged over my head.
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pushchair → have → head
"
On arrival at the car park, Jordan said the family had been given the keys to someone else's car.
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family → say → car
Several customers said they had been charged an additional £20 on arrival at the car park to pay for transport to the Radisson Blu Hotel at Stansted Airport, from where they then had to walk to the airport.
They were also told to meet at the location at the airport on their return after ringing drivers at New Farm once they had landed.
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they → say → Farm
Some customers said they believed they had booked through reputable comparison websites.
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they → say → websites
Amelia Palmer, from near Maidstone, Kent, said she had decided to book a weekend away to Italy as a treat for one of her daughters, but her car was damaged at the car park while she was away in June and she had struggled to obtain compensation.
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she → say → compensation
"I was quite disappointed because something that was meant to be a nice treat for my daughter, and it has now resulted in damage to our car.
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it → mean → car
"The added stress, the upset that we've paid for a service and it's not as it should be," she said.
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she → add → service
The BBC approached Cheema and Abdul Rehman, the new director listed for SC Parking Ltd, for comment and did not receive a response.
Uttlesford District Council said it was a complex case with "various agencies involved."
A spokesperson said the authority would continue to monitor the site and assess any new reports received to determine whether they fall within the scope of the existing enforcement notice.
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they → approach → notice
Essex Trading Standards said it had not received enough complaints to justify a formal investigation.
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it → say → investigation
Travel Extra Deals Ltd, which owns a comparison site used by some of the car park's customers, said it had issued the operator with a final warning and would stop sending bookings if further complaints were received.
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complaints → own → bookings
The company said it would review unresolved cases, provide refunds where appropriate and offered an apology on behalf of the operator.
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it → say → operator
The BBC put customers' complaints to Park Pilot Ltd, the company named on customers confirmation emails as the service provider, as well as the writing to management at New Farm, but neither responded.
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neither → put → Farm
The Radisson Blu Hotel at Stansted Airport said it was aware of concerns.
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it → say → concerns
Its general manager, Dinesh Kunder, said: "We would like to stress, the hotel has no commercial agreement nor affiliation with this company."
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hotel → say → company
Stansted Airport's managing director, Gareth Powell, urged customers to choose authorised parking providers, check reviews and report concerns to Essex Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
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director → urge → helpline
