News / Vehicle dwellers
1 in 6 pitches at ‘meanwhile sites’ remain empty
One in six pitches on so-called meanwhile sites are still empty, posing a problem in the plan for Bristol van dwellers.
Bristol City Council is planning to survey people living in vehicles to figure out how many pitches are needed on formal sites, and councillors complained of a “low uptake”.
In December 2025 the council passed a major new strategy for van dwellers, after years of increasing numbers across Bristol and complaints from local residents, particularly near the Downs. A key part of this was providing 250 pitches on meanwhile sites as an alternative to living on the side of the road, with facilities like toilets, taps and bins for a small fee.
is needed now More than ever
So far more than 150 pitches have been set up, and problematic spots like in Hillfields have been cleared. But the council is struggling not only to hit its target of 250 pitches, but also to get people to move onto the pitches too. An update was given to councillors on the housing policy committee on July 17.
The meanwhile sites were introduced as part of a new strategy by the council for vehicle dwellers – photo: Martha Fiddick
Tom Gilchrist, head of private housing, accessible homes and travellers, said: “The implementation of the policy has been extremely successful.
“It has faced some challenges, including planning constraints around the provision of meanwhile sites, and meeting the competing needs of quite a diverse group of people living in vehicles in the city.”
Successes include the outreach work from the council, St Mungo’s and Sirona, which aims to help people living in vehicles assess their options for moving into a house or flat, as well as get other support if needed too. And the Downs is largely now free of people living in vans, after previously having seen rows of parked caravans for several years.
But creating enough meanwhile sites has proved more challenging than council staff expected, as getting planning permission is difficult and locals living nearby often raise concerns about potential impacts. There are now 158 pitches across Bristol for people living in vehicles to rent from the council, which is still short of the target of 250 pitches by March 2027.
Some enforcement action has taken place where encampments are “causing serious impacts” on local communities, such as along Goodneston Road in Hillfields. But elsewhere in the city, van dwellers are still sparking complaints from local residents, like near St Andrew’s Park. Enforcement action is only taken “as a last resort”, after welfare checks are carried out.
One obstacle putting off van dwellers from moving onto a formal meanwhile site is that they will have to pay council tax, which they don’t have to pay if living on the side of a road.
However some will be eligible for discounts via the council tax reduction scheme, and people living in a van alone can get a 25 per cent discount. About one in six pitches so far are still vacant.
Gilchrist added: “We have allocated all of the pitches but I think we’re waiting for 20 or 30 residents to accept. Because of the client group we’re dealing with, they don’t respond immediately to the offer. There are issues around council tax, can they get the rent paid, there’s a whole range of things they want in place before they formally sign up.
“The 250 pitches aspiration was a number we thought was about right. But we didn’t ask the vehicle dwellers themselves about the numbers we thought we would require. So a survey will be establishing: do people actually want to move onto meanwhile sites, or don’t they? If they don’t want to move onto meanwhile sites, how can we support them to remain living roadside?”
He revealed that council staff tried to set up a meanwhile site on the Downs. This would have raised some eyebrows among the vociferous residents around the Downs who campaigned to get the council to move on the caravans, which they said were an eyesore and caused problems with litter. But the Downs Act, a Victorian law protecting the area, prevented this.
Green councillor Sibusiso Tshabalala said: “I’m a bit disappointed to hear that we went to find the pitches without asking the people how many spaces they would take. So now there’s a low uptake of it.”
If an encampment of van dwellers is having an impact on a certain community, local residents can tell the council about their concerns via an online form on the council’s website. Staff will then assess the impact on the area and speak to the people living there. They could be moved on if they’re causing anti-social behaviour, not disposing of waste properly, or breaking the law.
Main photo: Karen Johnson
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
