Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Lifestyle
Charlotte Hadfield & Marita Moloney

Homeowners furious after holidaymakers cause chaos by abandoning cars outside houses near airports

Homeowners living near airports have been expressing their frustration over holidaymakers parking cars in their driveways before jetting abroad.

Residents of a street have resorted to parking across driveways and central reservations due to people causing disruption.

Some residents have even witnessed people urinating in private gardens.

READ MORE: Family shocked after holidaymaker leaves car in their driveway for days to avoid airport parking charges

Those living in Speke in Liverpool said the area has become a popular drop off point for families travelling to and from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the Liverpool Echo reports.

This is because they want to avoid the airport's car parking charges, which are £4 for someone to park directly opposite the terminal for up to ten minutes, with this rising to £10 for 20 minutes and £25 for up to an hour.

Liverpool Airport said there is also a free drop-off point which is around the same distance away by foot from the airport terminal as Hale Road, where the concerned residents live, and is free for up to 40 minutes, increasing to £8 for an hour.

Anthony Brown, 73, who has lived in the area for the last 31 years, told the ECHO: "It's very frustrating. They park in between ours and next door's car and you can't get your car out.

"It varies each day - it's early morning and late at night. You get nothing and then there's a typhoon [of cars], it seems to be happening when you're sitting down watching something or reading.

"The noise - I've had to move into the back bedroom. It's going to affect the house prices, they're not high anyway in Speke. I go out for 20 minutes, come back and can't park outside my house, I have to go and park down the road.

"It's not just dropping people off, they go in [the airport] with them and they might stay there until the flight's gone. They go and someone else comes in."

Anthony said some drivers are also dumping rubbish, from food wrappers to beer bottles, in the area after dropping people off. He has also witnessed a woman urinating on the central reservation and a man urinating in a front garden.

He added: "They leave trollies where cars normally park - anything like that we push over the road into the airport boundary where the buses come in. Sometimes you come out and there's three or four trollies, they might be there for a day or two."

Michael Cox, 52, said he decided to move out of his home on Hale Road four years ago due to the amount of people parking in the area to access the airport and the noise this was creating.

"They were parking across your driveway. I said to them 'you're parking across my driveway' and they said 'I'll only be 10 minutes'," he said.

"You're inundated with 60/70 cars a day. They're sitting there for two hours sometimes."

An Airport spokesperson said: “We share resident’s frustration over the behaviour of some drivers who choose to park on public roads close to the airport when picking up or dropping off passengers, when we have on site car parks specifically designated for this use.

"This includes a free drop-off car park for those who do not want to pay for the convenience of being close to the terminal, with parking available for up to 40 mins free of charge.

"This is just a short walk from the terminal but a similar distance away compared to where cars parking on the local public roads are, plus our car park has a shelter for passengers waiting to be picked in poor weather.

"Unfortunately because some cars choose to park on public roads outside of the airport, we have no control on parking in these areas or on measures to deter drivers from parking here.

"We have had discussions with residents, local councillors and the City Council in the past to look at ways to tackle this problem and to deter such parking but sadly this continues to be a problem.”

Liverpool City Council told the ECHO highways officers will go out to monitor the situation at Hale Road.

READ MORE: Spain holidays: Positive update for Irish holidaymakers as major Covid rule lifted before Easter

READ MORE: Good news for Irish holidaymakers as 'major airports' likely to scrap 100ml liquids rule

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.