Housing chiefs at the council are preparing a new policy which won’t be ready until December
An encampment of caravans on the Downs in June(Image: Alex Seabrook)
Action on caravans and Travellers on the Downs is ‘needed quicker’ according to a prominent senior Green councillor.
Housing chiefs at Bristol City Council are drawing up a new policy for van dwellers, but this won’t be signed off until the end of the year, despite impatience growing.
Council lawyers are getting ready to apply for a possession order, which should quell the “unprecedented” period of a high number of encampments of Travellers pitching up on the grass. Parks staff complained of a “new low”, as they were laughed at while picking up rubbish.
Around 800 people live in vehicles in Bristol, with over 100 of these on the Downs.
Numbers jumped during the pandemic, as rents shot up and became unaffordable for many people. A new policy for vehicle dwellers is due to be published in December, tackling this thorny issue.
But for the people who live in houses around the huge parkland, their patience is wearing thin and December is too long to wait for. The Downs committee were urged once again to act sooner, during a meeting. In response they said the matter was one for the council.
Green Councillor Paula O’Rourke said: “There was a possession order on the Downs that ran out at the end of August last year. The possession order meant that we could move the encampments on more quickly. At the moment what happens is an encampment arrives.
“Then as soon as it arrives, literally the first thing the following morning, one of our officers serves papers, which gives them notice to leave.
“That has to go in front of a judge, and everybody knows that will take about four to six weeks. You can only apply for another possession order when an encampment has been there continuously for four weeks.
“So we waited until this year, and once there had been encampments for four weeks, the legal department at Bristol City Council is now preparing for a new possession order. We’re hoping to get that possession order soon. As soon as that’s in place, that’ll last for another year. That will calm things down for a year. That’s how we’re dealing with encampments on the grass.”
The police also have powers to move on encampments if there is severe antisocial behaviour, like which occurred last year. A group was kicked off the Downs, then relocated to another park in Bristol, before getting moved on and then moving to a third park, causing trouble in all three.
People living in vans parked along the side of the roads is a similar but separate issue. They tend to stay for much longer than Travellers who camp on the grass for a few days, and for different reasons, such as the unaffordable cost of renting a flat or a house in Bristol.
The two politicians responsible for taking action are Green Cllrs Barry Parsons and Ed Plowden. They chair the two policy committees, housing and transport, which are drawing up plans to find alternative locations for van dwellers to park, and bringing in new parking fees on the Downs.
Cllr O’Rourke added: “I’ll say this as a Green councillor: you need to be putting pressure on the policy chairs for housing and transport.
“They are the people who need to come up with a new policy to deal with this. Personally, I don’t think it’s going fast enough. I would press for things to move faster. We’re doing what we can. Would I like it to go quicker? Yes.”
Council staff are drawing up a new policy for vehicle dwellers. This is expected to be published in December, when councillors on the housing committee will be asked to approve the plans. It’s unclear what exactly they will involve.
A caravan was set on fire last February(Image: Alex Seabrook)
However last February, the committee discussed setting up service sites for van dwellers, with water, waste disposal and washing machines. These service sites could be located in supermarket car parks.
Another plan is a new formal ‘vehicle dweller voices’ group, to represent views of van dwellers. Two meanwhile sites could be turned into permanent areas where people can live in vans, at Kingswear Road in Knowle West and Rudgewood Close in Hartcliffe, with toilets and taps.
But tensions are rising between van dwellers and people who live in houses near the Downs.
A protest walk is planned for Thursday evening (June 12), set up by the new campaign group Protect the Downs — adding pressure on the council to provide alternative sites for van dwellers. A caravan was also set on fire last February, although nobody was harmed.
Robert Bourns, master of the Merchant Venturers, said: “The city council has changed its view in relation to the van dwellers and now accepts that this is a problem that must be dealt with, and as quickly as possible. But it does require alternative sites to be provided. I’m pretty sure that there has been a significant change in approach.”
Six people are employed by the council’s parks department to look after the Downs, but an increasing amount of their time is now spent clearing up rubbish. No bins have been provided for the people in caravans, who have to stuff their rubbish into the small public bins. Some Traveller encampments leave behind their rubbish, and sunny weekends see a spike in litter left by visitors.
Ben Skuse, area parks supervisor, said: “Our ability to do so much of what we used to do is being denuded more and more and more. The team is demoralised. We have become like a full time bin crew. We cannot catch up right now. We’re going backwards, due to the frequency of Traveller visits. It’s been an unprecedented period, and we’ve constantly had Travellers on site.
“We hit a new low a couple of weeks ago when we thought our latest encampment had left the site. Immediately all resources were diverted to the site to start clearing up, and the clear up was just unbelievable. We got to about 2.30pm, to be confronted by a bunch more Travellers driving onto the site, laughing at my team and saying ‘thanks for clearing up for us’.”