Bristol City Council has defended the plan for a new ‘meanwhile site’ at the controversial locationMaello Manning and Filipa Gaspar, SWNS and Alex Driscoll Breaking News reporter
11:38, 15 May 2026
An aerial view shows the site’s proximity to the new estate(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Neighbours have blasted plans to allow van dwellers at an unauthorised Bristol site to stay there legally.
The site, on Lanercost Road in Southmead, is on the doorstep of £350K newbuild homes and some existing residents describe the situation as a “nightmare”.
Bristol City Council now wants to convert the plot into an official ‘meanwhile site’ – a temporary, managed space where vehicle dwellers can stay legally, with access to water, toilets and waste disposal.
Under the proposals, vehicle dwellers would need to apply for a pitch, sign a site licence and pay weekly fees to cover site management, in addition to council tax.
The site neighbours the 161-home Elderberry Walk development, which opened in 2024 and replaced the former Dunmail Primary School site to provide a mix of affordable, shared ownership, key worker, ‘ethically rented’ and private sale homes.
One resident who asked not to be named said she feels she has lost her life savings after buying her home next to the site.
“How are they going to prove anti-social behaviour?” she said.
“It’s literally right next to a house without any real barrier. I feel really uncomfortable. I think that everyone has to have a place to live, but maybe they can put that outside a residential area.”
Locals are fuming over council plans to turn an illegal traveller site into a permanent home for van dwellers.(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Another neighbour, 53-year-old Ronda Golding, has lived in the area her whole life and is strongly opposed to the plan.
She said: “I think it’s disgusting. The council don’t care about our views on anything. I have sent over 100 emails, and not one has been responded to… the council are glorifying van dwelling.”
Joel Rodolpho, 54, who works at Southmead Hospital alongside his wife, has been driven to consider moving away, though he worries about the effect on his house value.
He described his young son being woken in the night, packages for van dwellers being delivered to his address and takeaways arriving at all hours.
The prospect of a legal meanwhile site, he said, is a “nightmare”.
In response councillor Barry Parsons, chair of the council’s homes and housing delivery committee, said meanwhile sites provide stability and support, with fewer issues than unauthorised encampments due to proper management.
Locals are fuming over council plans to turn an illegal traveller site into a permanent home for van dwellers.(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
The Southmead proposal is one of several meanwhile sites planned across the city, alongside locations at Tramway Road in Brislington, Western Drive and Albatross Road in Hengrove, and land formerly used as Whitchurch Sports Centre.
The planning application has received dozens of objections and two supporting comments from residents.
One anonymous objector asked: “Why was Lanercost chosen? Because it is primarily social housing, so nobody cares.”
Another said the plan “seems a deceptive move to relocate van dwellers from the Downs in richer, more affluent areas of Bristol to poorer areas in Bristol, such as Southmead”.
As of last week, van dwellers are now unable to live on more roads around the Downs in Clifton after Bristol City Council was granted an extension to an anti-social behaviour injunction.
Ronda claimed van dwellers told her they had been encouraged to move onto the land in Southmead ahead of a formal application, although there is no official evidence for this and the council has not confirmed it.
During a recent visit, the gate to the site was locked and occupants could not be reached for comment.
Labour councillors for Southmead, Kaz Self and Kye Dudd, said the situation has damaged trust.
In a joint statement, they said: “The council has burnt through a lot of residents’ goodwill by refusing to take their concerns about the unlawful encampment seriously and looking like it had encouraged the van dwellers to go there in the first place.”
They also described the council’s decision to take legal action while simultaneously applying for a meanwhile site on the same land as “quite a bizarre contradiction” and acknowledged that some residents felt the consultation period, which fell over Christmas, limited engagement.
The site could be made lawful(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
However, Cllr Parsons defended the meanwhile site programme, saying the sites “play a vital role in offering security, access to basic amenities and a sense of stability for people who have spent long periods living roadside”.
On Lanercost Road, he said council officers had met with the group several times “to carry out welfare checks and discuss alternative options” and that legal action had been taken only as “a last resort”.
Cllr Parsons added that meanwhile sites operate very differently to unauthorised encampments, and that “neighbours have reported very few issues with official sites once open… largely because there is a regular presence on site, clear management and licensing rules”.
The planning application is currently at the recommendation stage.
In a statement explaining the council’s position, Cllr Parsons said: “Over the past year, we have been working hard to increase the number of safe, managed Meanwhile Sites for people living in vehicles. These sites play a vital role in offering security, access to basic amenities, and a sense of stability for residents who have often spent long periods living roadside.
“Every pitch created is more than a number. It represents a safer place for someone to live, with access to basic facilities and hopefully a pathway to more settled housing in the future. Meanwhile Sites are not a permanent solution, but they provide stability and safety – things everyone deserves.
“The group occupying the land at Lanercost Road have been part of an unauthorised encampment for some time. Council officers have met with the group on a number of occasions to carry out welfare checks and discuss alternative options. As the group have remained on site, we have been forced to take legal action – something which we always consider to be a last resort. This action is ongoing and we are returning to court later this month to continue our current possession action for the Lanercost site.
“Plans have been submitted to turn this area of land into an authorised Meanwhile Site, which would be managed by the council, with occupants signing a licence and agreeing to the rules of the site. The formal process has been followed, and local residents have been given the opportunity to submit objections. The application has been called in for the planning committee to consider, which will give people another opportunity to raise issues by submitting a statement or question.
“Meanwhile Sites are very different to unauthorised encampments, and neighbours have reported very few issues with official sites once open. This is largely because there is a regular presence on site, clear management and licensing rules.
“We are committed to providing Meanwhile Sites across the city using a fair and equitable approach, but currently the availability of suitable land remains a major constraint.”