Bristol City Council statement on ‘unauthorised encampment’ near Lodekka pub in Brislington

A trespass notice has been served on an ‘unauthorised encampment’ on the old Bristol and North Somerset Railway in Brislington.

The small number of vehicles were first spotted on the stretch of line, known as the Tramway, near the Lodekka pub over the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

The area of former track was last used as a car park, but now lies empty. Earlier this year, plans were approved to create a temporary walking and cycling route along it.

Bristol City Council has visited the group of people occupying the site and has today (June 7) issued a statement.

A spokesperson said “We are aware of a small number of vehicles that are currently forming an unauthorised encampment on the Tramways site behind the Lodekka pub in Brislington.

“Members of our Gypsy Roma Traveller Team visited the group and carried out a welfare assessment before serving them with a trespass notice.

“We believe that the group at Tramways may have come from another site that is currently shutting down in Bedminster.

“We have had good communication with this group and they been respectful to the previous site and its surroundings, keeping the area clear of litter and antisocial behaviour.”

A trespass notice is the first step in a process which can lead to a possession order and a warrant for eviction from the land.

In July last year, there were spaces for 44 caravans at local authority and privately owned sites in Bristol, according to the Government’s latest traveller caravan count.

They included 12 pitches at a permanent traveller site in Ashton Vale and 20 at a transit traveller site in Lawrence Weston.