Southgate Park, Stansted Airport parking fine: rules, free time and how to appeal

Southgate Park, Stansted Airport is a restaurant car park serving Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) in Stansted, on Thremhall Avenue, London Stansted Airport (CM24 1PY). Parking here is managed by MET Parking Services, a private operator and member of the British Parking Association (BPA), so a ticket from this car park is a private Parking Charge Notice, not a council fine.

MET Parking Services enforces the rules at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport using number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras that log the time you drive in and out. If you got a charge here it will usually have arrived by post, addressed to the registered keeper, and the times on it are camera times, not the time you parked.

The rules at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport

You can park free for 1 hour, and stay up to 3 hours in total if you pay for the extra time. The free time is for Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) customers only, so leaving the site to shop or work elsewhere can lead to a charge.

To park free you must enter your registration on the tablet or terminal inside Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate). The cameras check visits against those entries, so a customer who forgets this step will usually get a charge. If that happens, the codes treat a missed registration as a reason to cancel or reduce the charge to £20, and your receipt is the evidence.

Southgate Park is the roadside services cluster on Thremhall Avenue, at the entrance to Stansted Airport. MET Parking Services runs cameras over the Starbucks and McDonald's car parks and the access roads. The free hour applies only if you're a customer of the outlet whose bays you use, and at Starbucks you have to register your car on arrival. Many charges go to people meeting arriving passengers. Several 2025–26 POPLA appeals argued that the land sits inside the airport's area of statutory control, so keeper liability under PoFA wouldn't apply. MET says the plot is privately owned and outside the airport's injunction boundary, and results have been mixed. One MSE poster got a charge cancelled because Starbucks was closed and the car park was unlit. If you bought something, send the receipt to the outlet and ask them to cancel.

How to appeal a charge at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport

1. Don't ignore it. Note the date on the notice: you normally have 28 days to appeal to MET Parking Services, and 14 days to pay at the reduced rate if you decide to pay.
2. Gather evidence: photos of the signs and where you parked at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport, receipts, payment records, and anything that explains why you stayed longer.
3. Appeal to MET Parking Services in writing. Keep to the facts and keep a copy. If you were not driving, you don't have to say who was.
4. If MET Parking Services rejects your appeal, it must give you a code to appeal to POPLA, the independent appeals service for BPA members. POPLA appeals are free, and you have 28 days from the rejection to use the code.

If you were shopping at Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate)

Keep your receipt. Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) stores can often ask MET Parking Services to cancel a charge for a genuine customer, and a till receipt or card statement showing you shopped there that day is the strongest evidence you have. It also shows how long you were in the store compared with the 1 hour allowed.

Ask at customer services before you appeal. Some stores can log a cancellation request with the operator on the spot; if they can't, name the store manager you spoke to in your appeal.

Common reasons charges here get cancelled

• A few minutes over the limitThe cameras time your whole visit, from the entrance to the exit. With a 1 hour limit at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport, an overstay of up to about 15 minutes is often inside the consideration and grace periods the code requires.
• You were a customer but forgot to registerCustomers who didn't enter their registration on the Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) tablet can send a receipt or card statement. Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) can ask for the charge to be cancelled, and under the codes a missed registration should be no more than £20.
• You were a Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) customerProof you shopped or ate at Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) on the day often gets a charge cancelled, especially when the overstay was short.
• Reported at this car parkDrivers park in the Starbucks area and then walk to McDonald's, or the other way round, and get charged because the free hour only covers that outlet's customers
• Reported at this car parkStarbucks customers who don't enter their registration on the terminal inside get a charge even though they bought something
• Reported at this car parkArguments about whether the plot falls under Stansted's airport byelaws, which would stop MET from chasing the registered keeper
• Signs you couldn't reasonably seeThe terms are a contract formed by the signs at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport. If the entrance sign was missing, hidden or unreadable, photograph it from the driver's position; the codes set rules for size, placement and wording.

Get an appeal letter for Southgate Park, Stansted Airport

Written for you from your check, addressed to MET Parking Services with this car park's details already filled in.

• First appeal, plus the POPLA appeal if it's rejected
• Late-appeal and £20-reduction letters included
• Edit it, then download as Word or PDF, or copy into the appeal form
• Full refund within 14 days, no questions

Start my letter, £5.99 Appeal for free instead

A document-preparation service, not legal advice. Your details stay on your device.

Questions about parking at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport

How long can you park at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport?

The maximum stay is 3 hours, with the first 1 hour free.

Who runs Southgate Park, Stansted Airport car park?

MET Parking Services manages the parking for Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate). It's a member of the BPA, so appeals go to MET Parking Services first and then to POPLA.

Is Southgate Park, Stansted Airport car park free?

Yes, it's free for 1 hour, for Starbucks and McDonald's (Southgate Park, privately owned plot within the airport estate) customers. Staying longer than allowed can lead to a charge of up to £100.

Can I appeal a MET Parking Services charge at Southgate Park, Stansted Airport?

Yes. Appeal to MET Parking Services within 28 days, with evidence. If it's rejected you can go to POPLA for free. Paying doesn't stop you appealing first, but the reduced rate usually only applies in the first 14 days.

Does Southgate Park, Stansted Airport have parking cameras?

Yes, MET Parking Services uses ANPR cameras here. They record your registration and the time you enter and leave, and charges are posted to the registered keeper.

Last checked on 31 October 2026, from recent driver reports, cross-checked (ftla.uk threads Oct 2025–May 2026 (MET POPLA evidence quoting the sign terms); MSE thread naming CM24 1PY; Motorway Services Online (address, tariff, RingGo code)). Signs and rules change, so the signs on the day are what count. Spotted something different? Report a change.