Drivers who had parked outside of a football stadium in Bristol were shocked to find offensive messages on their cars. Motorists parked outside Ashton Gate Stadium on Raynes Road and others nearby discovered spoof parking tickets on their vehicles which told them they had 'parked like a c***'.
The mysterious sticker vigilante struck on Easter Monday, leaving the crude labels on cars which resemble an official parking ticket from a distance, the Mirror reports. With a bright yellow background and black-checked outline, the abusive notes read: "You've parked like a c*** - do not do it again. Warning. The person who 'parked' this vehicle doesn't give a s*** about other people, the selfish b*****d."
The stickers are the latest attack in a stewing row surrounding match day parking in Ashton over the past few years, since crowds returned to Bristol City and Bristol Bears matches following the Covid-19 pandemic. They were left on cars in the hour before the Bristol City vs Middlesbrough match on Easter Monday.
The issue has still not been solved by either Ashton Gate bosses or Bristol City Council with a stalemate over who should pay for any kind of matchday parking scheme, which would see residents given temporary permits in certain streets for the hours either side of a home rugby or football match at the stadium.
When the stadium was remodelled in the mid-2010s, there was an agreement that Bristol Sport, which operates Ashton Gate, would set up and pay for a matchday parking scheme if Bristol City were promoted to the Premier League. The deal would also be triggered if three games out of any consecutive five saw crowds of over 25,000 people.
That almost happened during Bristol City's run to the League Cup semi final in the winter of 2017-18 but neither have looked likely to happen since, with the Covid pandemic banishing crowds for a full season which saw a pause in the dispute.
However, since crowds returned the issue has been further complicated by the residents living on Raynes Road and other nearby streets who move their own vehicles onto the street and charge fans to park on their drives instead. There are also continuing issues with the Long Ashton Park and Ride site which is a publicly owned 500 space car park less than a mile from the stadium but was shut on Easter Monday due to the Bank Holiday.
At the start of this season, an anonymous Twitter account called 'Residents Parking For Ashton Gate' started calling out drivers and highlighting the worst instances of bad parking in the streets around the ground.
Local councillor Mark Bradshaw shared images of vehicles that had been left on Gores Marsh Park on the day of Bristol City's home match against Blackpool on March 11, calling on the council and the police to 'do some matchday enforcement'.
However, the 'Residents Parking' Twitter states it is not just fighting for a matchday parking scheme but also showcasing the issues with regular events at the stadium too.
The parking issue is something that Ashton Gate says it is addressing after Bristol City Council awarded planning permission for the new 'Sporting Quarter' which will see a 536-space multi storey car park being built on the site of the current Wickes DIY store.
This will be accompanied by a new 5,000-capacity indoor sports and convention centre, a 232-room hotel, 125 flats, gym, museum and offices. However, the council left issues like the knock-on effect on residents' parking to be the subject of a series of planning conditions to be thrashed out in negotiations between the stadium bosses and the council's planning officers.
When planning officers produced their report recommending the Sporting Quarter be given planning permission in October 2022, they said: "Members are advised that negotiations are currently taking place between parties in relation to a variation to this existing S106 obligation for Ashton Gate Stadium.
"It is proposed that this will require an additional clause to also include SCC attendance figures if an event at the SCC is concurrent with an event at the stadium and the combined total attendances trigger Ashton Gate Limited's current S106 obligation.
"A similar planning obligation in this respect is also required in relation to the proposed development. Discussions are currently taking place regarding the exact details and wording of both obligations but at the time of writing this report this has not been agreed and finalised".
As yet, there is no update from the city council's planning department on whether agreement on that has been made.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
