It would have been about 25 minutes’ drive from the South West transport hub
Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter
08:10, 11 Aug 2026
Planned site for Bristol Airport car park at Beech Tree Farm on Badgworth Lane in Badgworth(Image: Graham Moir Associates Ltd)
Plans to establish a long-stay car park for Bristol Airport passengers on the fringes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset have been rejected on appeal. Jane Vosper submitted an application in December 2025 to develop the car park near the Badgworth Arena, just outside Axbridge and around 25 minutes’ drive from the airport.
Somerset Council turned down the planning application in late March, contending that it would “give rise to significant and harmful levels of noise”, severely impacting the quality of life of local residents.
The Planning Inspectorate has since upheld the council’s ruling, with inspector Juliet Rogers concluding that residents were “likely to experience disturbance to an unacceptable level”.
The proposed car park would have been based at the entrance to the Badgworth Arena on Badgworth Lane, on hardstanding land adjacent to Beech Tree Farm.
The development would have comprised 19 spaces – of which 15 would have been standard long-stay bays and 4 would have been electric vehicle charging points.
Ms Vosper said the car park’s prospective operator would have provided a shuttle service between the site and the airport, with the charging points partly utilised to power these shuttle vehicles, thereby cutting carbon emissions.
A spokesperson for the family said: “Our clients would not be looking to expand the facility any larger than the proposed 15 spaces, as their calculations suggest that if they maintained a 50 per cent occupancy level for cars across the year, the income generated would be sufficient to support the ongoing viability of Badgworth Arena.”
Ms Rogers visited the site in June and published her final ruling before the council’s planning committee north (which handles major applications within the former Sedgemoor area) convened in Bridgwater on Tuesday afternoon (August 11).
Drawing on current flight schedules from the airport, she concluded that the proposal would generate considerable noise in the early hours of the morning, potentially disturbing the sleep of neighbouring residents.
She said: “The evidence before me indicates that flights to and from Bristol Airport commence at 6am, with the last arrivals just before 1am.
“This would result in passengers needing to arrive at the site any time from 2am to allow for a 30-minute journey time to the airport for arrival, up to three hours ahead of departure (in the case of international, non-European flights).
“Passengers returning and arriving at the airport at around 1am would be unlikely to return to their vehicle before 2am depending upon the efficiency in the airport arrival procedures.
“Therefore, the proposal could result in noise associated with comings and goings at any time during a 24-hour period.
“At night, as the noise from the proposed use would be accentuated by the absence of other background noise, existing occupiers would be likely to experience disturbance to an unacceptable level.”
Ms Rogers noted that this impact “would be heightened” during the summer months, when demand for the facility was expected to peak and many local residents would have their windows open.
She further stated: “Such a disturbance can have a significant effect on quality of life, particularly sleep, and can lead to chronic health effects.
“While the appellant has confirmed that bookings will be ‘cherry-picked and coordinated to avoid early-morning and late-evening flights (as well as same sex groups of passengers), it is unclear how this will be achieved or managed..
“In addition, as acknowledged by the appellant, this could not be enforced and there would be nothing to prevent a future owner accepting such bookings.”
Badgworth Arena typically hosts around two events per week at its equestrian centre, with approximately 40 lorries or horse boxes attending each occasion.
Ms Rogers argued this usage “does not justify the increase in night-time activity”, asserting that light spill from the headlights of turning vehicles would “significantly affect the perception of tranquillity in the area”.
She concluded: “The proposal would harm the living conditions of existing occupiers of nearby properties, and would result in unacceptable noise and disturbance impacts.”
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