Bristol city council has confirmed people living in the vehicles around the Clifton Downs will be ordered to move from the 1st of December.
A warning has been issued that anyone who refuses to leave could face a court order under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. The decision follows several months of growing frustration from the residents of the quiet Clifton suburb, who have raised repeated complaints regarding fly tipping, noise, improper parking, and waste being left around the popular green space.
A spokesperson from the city council has shared that the authority wants to “significantly reduce the number of people living in vehicles on highways and council-owned land in Bristol without consent.”
The Downs is thought to be one of the biggest van-dwelling locations in England, with around 60 vehicle homes currently parked up in the area. Across the whole of Bristol there is thought to be a total of around 700 vehicle homes, making it one of the UK’s most popular areas for van living.
There has been a long running debate surrounding the van dwellers, but the issue has recently escalated after the council discovered the dweller’s makeshift toilets in areas surrounding the Downs. Since this discovery the area has been classified as “high impact”, this status means the council must try and disperse everybody living there to an alternative site due to their policies.
From the 1st of December the council will begin liaising with residents, carrying out welfare checks and offering support until they are settled in a permanent site. The council are bringing in outreach workers, a social worker, and a small nursing team to assist the van dwellers throughout the moving process.
A key part of the council’s plan is to relocate the dwellers to “meanwhile sites”, which are unused areas awaiting development. The council aims to create 250 of these spaces around the city. The residents who move there will have to pay a fee, but there will be basic sanitation facilities included.
Featured image via Google Maps
