Villagers are fed up with holidaymakers jetting off from Stansted Airport and dumping their cars on a residential street for weeks at a time.
Residents on North Road in Takeley, Essex, just eight minutes from the airport are calling for a ban on non-residential vehicles after 10 years of parking turf wars.
One couple has resorted to putting cones out to save their space – while another woman said she’d been spat at when asking someone to move their car.
Ana and Luis Dos Santos who have lived on North Road for eight years said the parking situation is ‘chaotic’.
Ana, 34, said: ‘It is horrible to come back and not have a space for your car.
‘It is chaotic especially if you have kids – walking to the end of the road for the bus stop.
‘They just don’t care.’
Luis, 55, added: ‘I borrowed cones from work so we can save our parking spot from airport parkers.
‘It has been a nightmare, especially in the summer months.
‘If there is an emergency, there is no way a fire truck or ambulance could get through.
‘You have to look left and right for your car not to be scratched.’
Residents have said there are parking restrictions on the road but they are ignored and there is no enforcement.
Meanwhile, parking at Stansted Airport on the day costs a whopping £268.
Bill Collinson, 77, said cars had been parking along North Road – and the adjoining Parsonage Road, for 10 years.
Parsonage Road is the main stretch leading up to Stansted Airport, cutting out the M11, making it popular with motorists coming from further south in Essex.
Retiree Bill said one German man had stopped him and offered £700 to park on his drive while he went away.
Bill said: ‘He pulled up to me and said he’d give me £700 to park outside my house. I said no, more like £7,000.
‘This has been going on for 10 years – people parking in front of driveways, blocking people in. It’s disgraceful.
‘Someone should come along with a flatbed, pick them up and get rid of them.. It’s dangerous.’
Local councils are exploring traffic measures such as controlled parking zones, clearways and red routes on main roads, and resident parking permits.
Vicky Pearson, 60, who has lived on North Road for 25 years has set up a petition calling for urgent action to stop her street being used as a ‘parking lot for airport commuters’.
She said: ‘People are frightened to pull out of these streets now. When we are going on holiday, we are paying for a cab so why can’t other people?
‘If you can afford to go on holiday, then you can afford to pay parking.’
Working as a security officer for FedEx, Vicky is unable to see when pulling out of her junction to go to work – as her view is blocked by parked cars.
Vicky added: ‘All we need is yellow lines and a sign that doesn’t allow for people to park here that are going to the airport.
‘It would be a lot safer for Takeley and the surrounding areas.’
With the road being near a local primary school, the petition is dedicated to make the roads safe and is asking for the council to help.
Dan Saull, 48, has lived in his North Road home for 40 years and said he believed it was the airport’s responsibility to sort things out.
Dan, a scaffolder, said: ‘I totally understand why people park on the main road, times are hard and airport parking is expensive.
‘But for the last three or four years it has been a real problem.
‘I walk my dog at early times of the morning and you see them try and park prestige cars here.
‘I tell them not to park around here because some people will damage the cars.
‘I nearly hit someone the other day, you cannot see, especially when cars are parked on the kerb.’
A North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) spokesperson said: ‘NEPP continues to work with partners, including Uttlesford District Council (UDC) and the Fly Parking Task Group, to look at long-term, joined-up solutions to airport-related parking issues, rather than piecemeal fixes.
‘While past proposals have faced challenges and not moved forward, we remain committed to supporting effective and enforceable restrictions where appropriate.
‘A UDC-commissioned parking review covering the wider area is currently being prepared for publication, though North Road has not been flagged directly in it.
‘In addition, a Cabinet report on 19 June, presented findings from the Takeley consultation and broader parking work in the district.
‘We will consider any outcomes relevant to North Road once that report is published.
‘We encourage residents experiencing parking issues to use this route to formally raise concerns and help us identify workable, supported solutions.’
Uttlesford District Council said dangerous or obstructive parking, such as blocking access to a highway and parking on a bend, was a police matter.
A council spokesperson added: ‘We are aware of the issues raised and as an issue of public safety the responsibility lies with Essex County Council, via the North Essex Parking Partnership, as the highways authority.’
It is understood Stansted Airport works closely with Essex County Council, the Uttlesford District Council Enforcement Team and Trading Standards when any issue of potential fly parking is identified.
Uttlesford District Council and Stansted Airport have been contacted for comment.
