Unanswered questions over when caravans will be removed from the Downs after exodus policy approved

Bristol City Council has now signed off a new long-awaited strategy to significantly reduce the number of people living in vans on the side of the road.

Hundreds of people are living in more than 600 vans parked on the kerbside across Bristol, according to the most recent count this summer. They will be supported to either move into houses or flats, or “meanwhile sites” which are essentially caravan parks with water and toilets.

If a group of van dwellers is thought to be having a serious impact on the local community, then council staff will now be able to take immediate action and tow their vans away. However council bosses refused to answer when exactly vans would get towed away from the Downs.

The new vehicle dweller strategy was approved by councillors on the housing policy committee on Friday, December 19. The committee faced questions on when enforcement on the Downs would take place and warnings that the new policy would end up as a “whack-a-mole” approach.

Green Councillor Barry Parsons, chair of the committee, said: “We’re dependent on the courts to be able to enforce any such order. There’s a court process that we need to go to, we need to provide the courts with the evidence that shows why we need to take this action. So the timescales will be dependent on the courts to a large extent.”

A court date is set for February, when the council will try to convince a judge of the need to remove vans from roads around the Downs. Cllr Parsons was asked whether June was a reasonable target to have removed them, but he refused to commit to a certain month.

He added: “Sorry, it’s perhaps not the clear and definitive answer you’d like. Once we have the authorisation that we hope the court will grant us, then obviously we’ll take action in as timely way as we can.”

Another unanswered question is how many lived-in vehicles will remain on the streets of Bristol by the end of next year, or 2027 or 2028. The council has not yet set a target for reducing vehicles, despite this being a key aim of the new landmark strategy. One problem is the shortage of alternatives, both oversubscribed meanwhile site pitches and houses and flats.

The council is hoping to vastly increase the number of meanwhile site pitches from around 60 to 250. A new one opened recently in Lockleaze, and already has more than 90 people on the waiting list. It’s not guaranteed that the council will be able to create 250 pitches, but even if it does, this won’t be enough to cater for everybody living in a van across Bristol.

The policy includes a three-month support period, when vehicle dwellers will be helped to move on, before enforcement action is taken. But this doesn’t apply when the impact on the local area is serious, when enforcement action would be more immediate. The policy takes some effect from January, but will be ramped up gradually until taking full effect in April.

Conservative Cllr John Goulandris, representing Stoke Bishop, said: “For a long time as a city we’ve tried to ignore the problem and kick the can down the road and that really isn’t acceptable. So after many years of inertia on this issue under previous administrations which saw a massive escalation in vehicle dweller numbers, I’m pleased this committee has recognised that something has to be done to stop the ever-increasing numbers.

“There’s the danger of a whack-a-mole approach where we move vehicle dwellers from one part of Bristol, but only to another part. That’s not a solution, just a temporary move. I personally would like to see some more figures and timelines. But I accept that it’s going to be difficult.”

Some people live in vans because they’re forced to, as rents in Bristol are the second highest in the country and increasingly unaffordable. Other people live in vans out of choice, because they provide a sense of freedom, not having to find hundreds of pounds in rent to pay a landlord every month, or live in a shared house and share your bathroom and kitchen with potential strangers.

Further down the line, the council is considering finding sites where van dwellers can live permanently, recognising that for many people this is a preferred way of living, rather than in houses or flats. But the details of this are still unclear and no landowners have been found yet willing to help out.

Setting up new meanwhile sites is expected to cost £2.5 million. Another £2 million is expected to be spent on implementing the policy over the next two and a half years. An update on how the policy is working is expected between April and June, when potential tweaks could be made.

After the meeting, Cllr Parsons said: “Fundamentally we want to make sure that all communities, including those living in vehicles or caravans, and those in homes in neighbourhoods, have a meaningful and fair chance to live healthy and safe lives.

“We know that we need to reduce the need for so many people to live in vehicles, and remain committed to increasing the number of well-built, affordable homes in Bristol so that people have a safe and secure place they can call home.

“We need to be clear that now 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. ”