Bristol city council has vowed to open temporary sites for people who live in vehicles in some of the most affluent neighbourhoods rather than trying to shift them to more deprived areas.
The Green-led authority is aiming to provide 250 pitches on “meanwhile sites” – often plots of land about to be developed – for vehicle dwellers by the spring.
So far, the sites earmarked have tended to be in poorer parts of the city but the council has said it is only fair that richer neighbourhoods play their part.
The issue of vehicle dwellers has become one of the most controversial in the city after about 100 parked on the Downs, a wealthy area close to the Clifton suspension bridge, sparking a fierce protest from local homeowners.
One solution by the council has been to bolster the network of “meanwhile sites”, managed spaces on land awaiting development. Vehicle dwellers stay for several months until the site is needed and, hopefully, move to a fresh spot.
Barry Parsons, chair of the homes and housing delivery committee, told the Guardian it was important the sites were spread to all parts of the city.
He said: “The scale of the need really means that we’ve just got to find more and more. We’re very much looking at sites in affluent areas, in the leafier areas of the city.
“It’s a matter of equity, we think. We have a lot of people saying to us: ‘Oh, you’re moving people on from the Downs because the wealthy people are complaining about them.’
“We think it is really important that no one community or no one area is more burdened with the impacts of this issue. We think it’s right that affluent areas should be just as open to welcoming sites.
“We want to make these sites attractive to people. And part of that is about making sure that they can be somewhere where they can have easy access to work or education or community.”
There are believed to be about 600 van dwellers in Bristol, up from about 70 in 2017. The council estimates that it is a “lifestyle choice” for only about 30%, with the rest forced into vehicles by soaring house prices and rents.
The council has instigated legal proceedings to force the van dwellers off the Downs. Around a third have moved on and enforcement action against any who remain is expected in the new year.
Parsons spoke as the council launched a new “meanwhile site” in Lockleaze, north of the city centre, which has areas of deprivation.
As well as providing a pitch, fresh water, rubbish collection and toilet facilities, vehicle dwellers at the sites also have access to outreach workers. The council says it does not believe any other authority in England is running such a programme.
Among those who will be moving into the Lockleaze site is Dan, 34, a lorry driver, and his cat, Moon. He said: “It’ll be great not to have to keep looking over your shoulders. You feel a bit more legitimate. You don’t have to worry about being targeted or have the constant fear of being evicted and made homeless again.
Vehicle dweller Dan (left) and Barry Parsons, chair of Bristol city council’s homes and housing delivery committee, at a new ‘meanwhile site’ in the city. Photograph: No byline
Dan said he used to be in the British army but left after an injury and, when he could not afford a conventional home, bought a van for £1,500. He would prefer to live in a house.
“The winters do get hard and you’re constantly trying to chase water. It’s rough but I think people need to accept that living in trailers is a viable way of living for people who can’t afford to live in houses.”
