NEW council regulations that will prohibit motorists from dropping off and picking up outside the entrance to Bournemouth Airport are set to be introduced on Friday.

The traffic regulation order - approved by Dorset County Council in 2015 - comes into force in a bid to deter airport customers from stopping at roads and entrance ways leading off Parley Lane.

It has been introduced amid safety fears and complaints that some airport customers are trying to avoid paying drop-off parking charges.

Those who continue to defy the order, where there are ‘no loading’ road markings and signs at Parley Lane and at the nearby quarry, risk a £70 fine.

Christchurch and county councillor Margaret Phipps said the issue was much wider than the parking fines and was a matter of highway safety.

She said that when the matter of Parkfield School was considered - which is due to move from Bournemouth town centre to their airport site over the summer - it was imperative to take into account the added motorists on the road.

“At the end of the day, although the school will have some drop off facilities on site for the children and they have been promoting buses and walking etc, it is likely there will be further chaos on the road,” Cllr Phipps said.

“And obviously these have been put in to avoid that.

“There is a much bigger picture here.

“It’s not just to do with the airport but the future of the expansion of the airport business park as well.

“The traffic on that lane is likely to increase.

“Dropping off and picking up anyone on that road is not a good idea.

“That is why this has been put in place It is a bigger picture than just the airport parking charges.”

In particular, safety concerns have been raised about people dropping off passengers and luggage in the entrance to the quarry, which is regularly used by heavy goods vehicles.

Residents of nearby roads have also complained about people parking and leaving their cars in narrow roads for the duration of their holidays.

Managing director of the airport, Paul Knight, told the Echo at the time that he welcomed the work which was “designed to improve highway safety along Parley Lane and at the airport entrance”.