News / Van Dwellers
People living in caravans told to leave in 48 hours or face eviction
People living in caravans on a Bristol street have been told to leave within 48 hours or face eviction.
Bristol City Council has secured a court order to force van dwellers to leave Goodneston Road in Fishponds after a raft of complaints and a spate of arson attacks.
Hundreds of people are living in vans across Bristol, with some local residents becoming increasingly angry about related issues like anti-social behaviour, fires and human waste.
Chair of the public health and communities committee, Stephen Williams, says the vans are “seriously impacting” the local community – photo: Martin Booth
Many van dwellers say the city’s unaffordable rents have driven them to live in vehicles instead.
In a landmark new housing strategy, the council is trying to move on van dwellers into official “meanwhile sites”, which are effectively very basic caravan parks with water and toilets.
The strategy also allows the council to speed up the process of moving on groups of caravans.
Liberal Democrat councillor for Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze and chair of the public health and communities committee, Stephen Williams, said: “Due to significant issues in the area, we have concluded that the group of lived-in vehicles on Goodneston Road is seriously impacting on the local community, environment and overall location.
“Following the approval of our new policy, by the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, we started enforcement action by engaging with the vehicle dwellers and conducting welfare assessments.
“People were given advice and signposted to relevant support services. We have also directed the vehicle dwellers to leave the area and 19 have moved on voluntarily.
“[On Monday], we attended court and were granted powers to move the remaining vehicles on. The official notice will be served [on Tuesday] and people will be given 48 hours to move.
“If they do not move, we will be forced to carry out an eviction, which is always a last resort.”
Goodneston Road, off Lodge Causeway, is located in an industrial area that is earmarked for a huge new housing estate, with more than 2,000 homes in the wider Atlas Place masterplan for three sites.
The street has suffered a spate of arson attacks, as several caravans have been set on fire.
Following the fires, Avon and Somerset Police have installed CCTV cameras on the road and are patrolling regularly.
The occupants of one vehicle on Goodneston Road are working with the council’s outreach team, and they will not be moved until their circumstances are resolved.
In a letter to residents in January, local Labour councillors said there had been fires, criminal damage, fly-tipping, drug dealing and human waste.
The letter said this was “completely unacceptable, especially so near a school where children are expected to travel past every day”.
Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
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