UK man set up his own toll road without planning permission, and within days 100,000 vehicles were already using it
- Kelston Toll Road in the UK was built without permission
- It helped drivers swerve a 14-mile detour
- It was massively popular, with 100,000 drivers using it
Published on Nov 08, 2024 at 4:01 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 11, 2024 at 10:37 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Sitting somewhere in the countryside between Bath and Kelston in the UK is Kelston Toll Road.
A landslip blocked the single road linking the two English towns, creating a 14-mile detour while the nearby highway was undergoing repairs.
One local businessman saw an opportunity and set up his own 400-meter private toll road, costing drivers around $2.59 (£2) to drive the 400-meter (1,312ft) stretch.
However, built without planning permission, sadly the money-making endeavour didn’t last long.
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The UK toll road
It was a $390,000 (£300,000) venture for local entrepreneur, Mike Watts.
Hearing local drivers had had enough of the 14-mile detour, Watts decided to build a toll road over private land without planning permission with the help of a local farmer.
Also known as a turnpike or tollway, a toll road is a public or private road for which a fee (or toll) is required to use – check out this C7 Corvette speeding past cops at 200mph on a Texas toll road.
He charged $2.59 (£2) to travel the 400-meter (1,312ft) stretch and avoid a lengthy detour – just slightly less than the petrol would have cost.
Mike and his wife put their house up as collateral to fund the road’s construction.
But they never guessed how many people would actually use it.
With people keen to shave precious minutes off their commute, 100,000 cars were using it within days.
It even appeared on Google Maps.
The shortcut’s demise
Despite the Kelston Toll Road not being approved by the local council, Watts hadn’t committed a crime.
The road was in use for 14 weeks before the council asked for retrospective approval and the nearby highway A431 reopened early.
Building without permission can be an issue, like this $1.5 million house that a US man found built on his land without his authorization.
The toll road was later turned back into fields.
The UK tax office (HMRC) waived a shortfall in the balance of VAT from toll-fee revenue and the entrepreneur just about broke even.
His wife, Wendy, even collected some stones from the road and stuck eyes on them, to make pet rocks that were sold for $1.30 (£1) or $2.59 (£2) if sprayed gold.
For more on weird UK roads, check out this UK family who live in the center of a busy highway.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
