A BID to base a parking scheme at Adventure Wonderland will provide Bournemouth Airport passengers with a much-needed choice, say the people behind the plan.

A proposal has been submitted to Christchurch council for permission to use part of the car park at the popular theme park for an airport parking service run by BOMA Ltd.

The family-run company, based in Christchurch, collects customers cars from the airport and takes them to a car park, before meeting the passenger on their return with the vehicle.

And should permission be given, managing director of BOMA, John Smith, said they hope to base their entire operation at Adventure Wonderland.

“We wanted to bring the service closer to the airport. It’s more convenient and avoids traffic jams, especially with all the work at the moment”, he said.

“Business is going well; a lot of our customers are repeat users thanks to the deals we do, and we hope to build on that with new business as well.

“People with children and disabilities prefer to use us as public transport is just not convenient for them.

“We want to work with the airport as much as we can; we see ourselves as an alternative offering. At the moment they have a monopoly on the parking, and we think people should have a choice.

“The application seems to be getting support from the public, and we hope there aren’t any objections.”

Mr Smith said approximately 50 cars would be based at the site. The company, who have been running since just before Christmas, are working with Trading Standards to ensure all safety and security aspects are covered.

A spokesperson for Adventure Wonderland said they had spare capacity on the site, and parking for the attraction would not be affected.

The spokesperson added: “This application is driven by huge numbers of our customers looking to leave their cars on site when they go on holiday which we have resisted until this summer.

“The company have virtual 24hr presence on site and cars are kept behind a security fence with access locked at night.

“It will give much needed competition to the airport, removing the virtual monopoly that exists at present.

“We are prepared to withdraw the application if there is no public support for it, but we think that it is a win-win proposal for local holiday goers, business users and the area as a whole.”

A Bournemouth Airport spokesperson said: “The airport invests a significant amount of time and money to ensure that cars are parked at Bournemouth Airport in a secure environment. Following a stringent reassessment by the police we have recently retained our Park Mark status which confirms that our car parks are safe and secure, and that we have strict measures in place for deterring criminal activity. “