News / Van Dwellers
Labour refutes council claims on Fishponds van dwellers
Labour councillors are refuting Bristol City Council’s claims that the number of van dwellers in Fishponds has not increased since an eviction notice was issued for vans in Eastville.
While addressing concerns about van dwellers on Goodneston Road in Fishponds in early September, councillor Barry Parsons told Bristol24/7 that they had “no evidence” to suggest that additional vans had moved to the road recently.
However, in a statement to Bristol24/7 councillors for Hillfields, Kelvin Blake and Ellie King, have outrightly denied the claims by the Green chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, adding that councillor “Parsons clearly hasn’t been to Hillfields recently”.
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Councillors for Hillfields, which includes Goodneston Road, say the number of vans on the road have “dramatically” increased since an eviction notice was issued by the council for vans in Eastville
In their statement to Bristol24/7, Blake and King continued: “Anyone can see the number of vehicles have shot up dramatically since he ordered the eviction from Eastville.
“Moving them from Eastville, with no plans of where to move them to next, was clearly ill-considered.”
Parsons was also at the forefront of a new consultation that was launched on Thursday, which allows everyone in the city to have a say on a new vehicle dweller policy.
Bristol24/7 contacted the council to see if there was anything that had changed between early September and now, and if there was an updated stance on the vehicle dwellers in Fishponds. However, the council maintained that they haven’t seen a recent increase in vehicles on the site in question.
In his previous statement, Parsons had also explained that they had no eviction plans for vehicles on this site.
He added: “We have not found, or been provided with, firm evidence of ASB being caused by the individuals living in vehicles on this site, and therefore no eviction action is currently planned.”
Blake expressed similar concerns about these “unlawful encampments” on Duncombe Lane and Goodneston Road during a full council meeting on Septmeber 9. He asked: “Duncombe Lane encampment has been there for a number of years now and has had multiple police visits and negative interactions with the local school and its pupils.
“What’s the difference between what’s going on with Duncombe Lane and the situation in Eastville, and why have you not acted to remove the caravans in Duncombe Lane when you did in Eastville?
In response to this, Parsons explained that the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET) had received complaints about antisocial behaviour at the Duncombe Lane site between December 2024 and June. These complaints were about safeguarding concerns raised by Bristol Brunel Academy School regarding interactions between van dwellers and pupils from the school.
Parsons added: “We shared with the police that they had responsibilities to tackle crime and had powers to act against unauthorised encampments under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and the officer said they would investigate if they could use their powers.
“If the police provided evidence of crime, ASB, and verified safeguarding concerns, then, alongside waste related issues we would classify the encampment as high impact.”
While writing to Bristol24/7 about Parsons’ comments and the council’s decision not to evict van dwellers from Fishponds, Blake and King laid out details about a decline of hygiene in the area, which they say resonates with what many residents have been feeling.
They added: “The sheer number of vehicles parking in the road means it’s now increasingly difficult to walk to the local schools without walking in the road.
“There are no waste or hygiene facilities, so unsurprisingly, we are constantly seeing litter and human waste on the street; this is an appalling way for a primary school-aged child to walk to school.
“We desperately need the Green-led council to get its act together.”
The council are urging everyone to participate in the consultation, open until October 23, which will decide the future of Bristol’s vehicle dweller policy.
All photos: Karen Johnson
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