BRISTOL City Council is asking people to help shape a new policy on how it treats people living in caravans and other vehicles parked across the city.
The authority says it wants to “balance offering help and advice to vehicle dwellers to better meet their health and housing needs, alongside considering the needs of the local community”.
It will also take another look at how it responds to reports from residents of people living in vehicles, to provide a “clearer process and explanation for when action will be taken”.
The council has launched a public consultation, which runs until October 23, and is calling on everyone affected by the issues, including vehicle dwellers and their neighbours, to fill in a survey.
At the beginning of September the council said there were 614 people living in vehicles at the side of streets, council-run temporary “meanwhile sites” on land awaiting development, as well as squatted and private land – down from a peak of 680 a year earlier.
They included around 30 parked at Goodneston Road, next the the Graphic Packaging International development site, and ten in Duncombe Lane, Speedwell, next to Bristol Brunel Academy.
The chair of the council’s homes and housing delivery committee, Barry Parsons, said: “Vehicle dweller numbers have grown in recent years, across Bristol and the whole country, and we are clear we cannot go on like this.
“Our communities, including vehicle dwellers themselves, deserve better.
“This increase in people living in vehicles creates a range of social, public health, and environmental challenges for the city and people living this way.
‘This is a genuine consultation’
“We need to be clear that once the policy is in place we will not be able to solve this issue overnight, and it will take time to meaningfully engage with people living in vehicles.
“However, with the right processes in place, we will be able to start offering real support to the people who need it, before moving to enforcement where necessary.
“I would like to assure people that this is a genuine consultation, and nothing has been finalised yet. Your feedback will help influence decisions, so please do take part in the survey.”
In September’s Voice Hillfields ward councillors Ellie King and Kelvin Blake called for the council to act quickly to solve the issue after complaints about obstruction and waste from residents near Goodneston Road and Duncombe Lane.
The council is not currently planning enforcement action at the site.
How to have your say
The consultation can be found at www.bristol.gov.uk/vehicle-dwellerspolicy.
People who are not online can call 0117 922 3921 to ask for a copy of the survey.
A new policy will be voted on in December.
The council is asking landowners who can offer temporary sites to contact vehicle.dwellers@bristol.gov.uk.