“The council has had plenty of time to act”
Chairman of Protect the Downs, Tony Nelson, before the start of the ‘Show of Support’ walk across the Downs to call for council action on the issue of people living in vans and caravans(Image: Bristol Post)
Campaigners trying to end the use of Durdham Down by people living in vans and caravans say they ready to take legal action against Bristol City Council for not acting to remove the van-dwellers.
The Protect the Downs group, which formed earlier this year after a huge public meeting on the issue saw 450 people inside a local church and another 150 locked outside, said it is also organising another ‘major public briefing’ on the next steps of their campaign, later this month.
Protect the Downs chair Tony Nelson has told members of the group that they want to ‘ramp up the pressure’ on Bristol City Council to do more to move on the van-dwellers. The council recently launched a consultation on a new city-wide policy on people living in vans and caravans on the streets of Bristol.
“We’re moving to the next stage – Protect the Downs is taking legal action,” Mr Nelson said. “Our barrister has drafted a formal letter, now being reviewed by our solicitor, to determine the best way to force the council to act. The goal is simple: ensure real help goes to people who are genuinely homeless, instead of letting the system be overwhelmed by voluntary vehicle dwellers choosing to occupy our parks and streets,” he said.
“We are organising a major public briefing at a large venue near the Downs,” he said. “This will be your chance to hear how we will ramp up pressure on the council through coordinated, concentrated action. Clear instructions for the next phase will be shared at the meeting.
“The council has had plenty of time to act. Instead, it has chosen delay and avoidance, effectively using incompetence as a strategy. We now know where to push and how to make them listen,” he added.
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Mr Nelson said the meeting would take place on Monday, October 20, at a venue near the Downs to be announced.
“The Downs belong to everyone,” he added. “Families, tenants, and homeowners deserve safe, shared green space. That cannot happen while unmanaged vehicle encampments damage the parks and make streets feel unsafe. There are more suitable places for this lifestyle, and for those in real need, the council must provide proper support, fast,” he added.
Caravans and vans parked on Parry Lane on the Downs
Last month, Bristol City Council announced it had set itself a target to increase the number of official pitches for van-dwellers from 66 to 250 at ‘meanwhile sites’, which would then mean they could move vans and caravans there, whenever they cause disruption to local residents on the streets.
“Vehicle dweller numbers have grown in recent years, across Bristol and the whole country, and we are clear we cannot go on like this,” Cllr Barry Parsons, the chair of the housing committee, said. “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.”