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An illegal airport car park has more than doubled in size despite council officials ordering the 'cowboy operation' to close down last year.

The parking lot near Stansted Airport was built on farmland last summer to offer cheaper parking for air passengers.

The site at New Farm in Elsenham, Essex, accommodated around 500 cars before an enforcement notice was served ordering it to stop trading last August.

However, the owners appealed the notice which meant they could legally keep trading until a hearing - which isn't expected until next year.

In the meantime, satellite images from September 2025 and May 2026 have captured how the operation has doubled in size.

Around 1,000 cars are estimated to be on the site now.

Essex County Councillor for Stansted, Ray Gooding, said the site had 'dramatically grown in size'.

He said: 'Whether it has doubled or tripled, I know it has definitely expanded - it has gotten wider and longer.

Satellite images from January 2025 to May 2026 show how the carpark has transformed former agricultural land

The parking lot near Stansted Airport was built on farmland last summer to offer cheaper parking forair passengers

Elsenham resident Annabel Viola outside the unauthorised Airport car park in Essex

'The assumption is that it has grown from around 500 to over 1000 cars, which I can safely agree with.

'It is now at the point where it is encroaching on other people's land which is unacceptable.

'Because it hasn’t been made fully illegal yet it appears that they will continue trading.

'The owners are being very selfish looking at the money side rather than the wellbeing of a community.

'Even if and when it closes, I know the model of abuse will just move on somewhere else.'

Annabel Viola, 71, who has lived in the village her whole life and lives just a five minute walk from the car park said the site was a 'step too far'.

The retired hairdresser said: 'It is outrageous that some think it is acceptable to build and run such a thing without permission.

'It is clear they are playing the system by appealing the enforcement notice, they know they are illegitimate and how to bend the rules.

Councillor Bianca Donald representing Elsenham and Henham and Leader of Uttlesford District Council Petrina Lees outside the car park

The site at New Farm in Elsenham, Essex, accommodated around 500 cars before an enforcement notice was served ordering it to stop trading last August

'They know they can get a couple of extra months of trading to fill their pockets - it is beggars belief.

'The council need to take control, as if they get away with this it's only going to happen again and again all over the country.'

Ms Viola added that the 'risk of an accident had increased' because of the number of cars now on the road.

Customers have described their 'terrible' experiences using the service.

One said: 'The driver had no people skills and my car arrived filthy dirty outside, obviously parked on a muddy field with muddy footprints also on the passenger side?

'Will NEVER use their service again.'

Another said: 'Scammers parking vehicles in a field. Inadequate transport to and from airport.

'Overcrowded transit buses and long wait times. Local council wants to shut them down for a reason!'

Others have told how they thought something was amiss when they were told there was a £20 extra fee for a lift to the airport after dropping off their car at the site.

The car park - which can now hold over 1000 vehicles - covers around seven acres of former agricultural land.

Luxury vehicles such as Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs have been spotted parked at the site.

It was converted last year without the necessary permission from the council.

Huge mounds of excavated earth are now piled around the car park, according to locals.

The owners of the car park appealed the council notice which meant they could legally keep trading until a hearing - which isn't expected until next year

An enforcement notice was given in August 2025 claiming there had been a breach in planning control for the 'material change of use of land' to allow 'unauthorised parking and storage of motor vehicles'.

It also said the car park was 'detrimental to the character and appearance' of the rural residential location and 'does not need to be here'. It added that there was already 'adequate parking' at the airport.

Council officers ordered the land to be no longer used as a car park and for the vehicles to be removed.

The owner of the car park, Aurangzaib Cheema, then appealed the decision two weeks later.

Cheema, from Barking, London, was previously listed as an owner of SC Parking LTD until he resigned in January 2026.

He wrote that it was 'simply not possible' to return the land to its previous state in the two months they were given.

He also said that the firm had a number of future bookings to complete and cancelling them would have a 'detrimental effect on his income'.

Cheema requested that the inspector 'allow his appeal in whole or in part'.

While the planning inspectorate considers the case, the car park can still trade.

No hearing date has been set yet.

The site has now more than doubled in size despite the council ordering it to close last year

In a joint statement by Uttlesford District Council Leader, Petrina Lees, and Council Chair, Bianca Donald and ward members for Elsenham and Henham said: 'We are very aware of the airport-related parking issues at New Farm and the concern this has caused locally.

'This is a complex case with various agencies involved.

'A planning enforcement notice was issued in August 2025 requiring the unauthorised use of the site to stop and for associated works to be removed.

'This notice has been appealed, and the Planning Inspectorate is considering the case.

'The council’s planning enforcement powers are limited while the appeal is in progress.

'Complainants have been directed to Trading Standards where appropriate; the council cannot instruct Trading Standards to investigate.

'We are keen for the case to move forward as swiftly as possible and continue to work with partners towards finding a solution.

'We would like to assure members of the public because this isn’t playing out in the public domain, that does not mean that the council are not doing all they can to resolve the issue.'

Stansted Airport encouraged passengers to book parking through the official London Stansted website or through trusted comparison sites.

They added passengers could report damage to Trading Standards so they can be investigated.

Essex Trading Standards said current 'complaint levels' do not currently meet their threshold for taking 'further enforcement action'.

A spokesman for Uttlesford District Council said: 'The scale of activity at the site continues to be monitored, and where it falls within the scope of the existing notice it forms part of the appeal case.

The car park - which can now hold over 1000 vehicles - covers around seven acres of former agricultural land

'The Council does not advise airport customers on where to park. Information for residents about airport-related parking, is available on our website.

'Consumer issues linked to private parking operators fall under Trading Standards, and guidance is provided online for anyone who believes they have been affected.

'We continue to work with partner agencies and are keen for the case to progress swiftly.'