News / southmead
‘The council are glorifying van-dwelling’
Plans to turn a site in Southmead into a managed space for people living in vehicles have sparked anger among residents.
The plot on Lanercost Road, currently occupied by van dwellers without authorisation, has become a source of unease in the community.
Bristol City Council wants to convert it into an official ‘meanwhile site’ – a temporary, managed space where vehicle dwellers can stay legally, with access to water, toilets and waste disposal.
Under the proposals, residents would need to apply for a pitch, sign a site licence and pay weekly fees to cover site management, in addition to council tax.
Ronda Golding, 53, who has lived in the area her whole life, is strongly opposed to the plan.
Standing on her doorstep in a dressing gown, she gestured across the road to a chain-link fence enclosing clusters of vans, portaloos and patchy grass.
“I think it’s disgusting,” she said. “The council don’t care about our views on anything. I have sent over 100 emails, and not one has been responded to… the council are glorifying van dwelling.”
In response, the council’s Barry Parsons, chair of the homes and housing delivery committee, said meanwhile sites provide stability and support, with fewer issues than unauthorised encampments due to proper management.
The site on Lanercost Road has been occupied for some time
The Southmead proposal is one of several meanwhile sites planned across the city, alongside locations at Tramway Road in Brislington, Western Drive and Albatross Road in Hengrove, and land formerly used as Whitchurch Sports Centre.
At the same time, van dwellers are unable to live on more roads around the Downs after Bristol City Council was granted an extension to an anti-social behaviour injunction.
Some Southmead residents have questioned what they see as a contrast between enforcement action in more affluent areas and the proposal for a managed site in Southmead.
One anonymous objector said the plan “seems a deceptive move to relocate van dwellers from the Downs in richer, more affluent areas of Bristol to poorer areas in Bristol, such as Southmead”.
Another asked: “Why was Lanercost chosen? Because it is primarily social housing, so nobody cares.”
In total, the planning application has received dozens of objections and two supporting comments from residents.
The unauthorised encampment of van dwellers sits behind a chain-link fence
Some residents have raised concerns about how the site was first occupied.
Ronda said van dwellers told her they had been encouraged to move onto the land ahead of a formal application, although there is no official evidence for this and the council has not confirmed it.
On a recent visit by Bristol24/7, the gate to the site was locked and occupants could not be reached for comment.
Labour councillors for Southmead, Kaz Self and Kye Dudd, said the situation has damaged trust.
In a joint statement, they told Bristol24/7: “The council has burnt through a lot of residents’ goodwill by refusing to take their concerns about the unlawful encampment seriously and looking like it had encouraged the van dwellers to go there in the first place.”
They also described the council’s decision to take legal action while simultaneously applying for a meanwhile site on the same land as “quite a bizarre contradiction” and acknowledged that some residents felt the consultation period, which fell over Christmas, limited engagement.
A graffiti sign on Lanercost Road reads ‘Community”
However, Parsons defended the meanwhile site programme, saying the sites “play a vital role in offering security, access to basic amenities and a sense of stability for people who have spent long periods living roadside”.
On Lanercost Road, Parsons said council officers had met with the group several times “to carry out welfare checks and discuss alternative options” and that legal action had been taken only as “a last resort”.
He added that meanwhile sites operate very differently to unauthorised encampments, and that “neighbours have reported very few issues with official sites once open.. largely because there is a regular presence on site, clear management and licensing rules”.
Neighbours complained of the noise the gate on Lanercost Road creates at night
Joel Rodolpho, 54, who works at Southmead Hospital alongside his wife, has been driven to consider moving away, though he worries about the effect on his house value.
He described his young son being woken in the night, packages for van dwellers being delivered to his address and takeaways arriving at all hours. The prospect of a legal meanwhile site, he said, is a “nightmare”.
A resident of the nearby Elderberry Walk development, who asked not to be named, said she feels she has lost her life savings after buying her home next to the site.
The land, she said, was intended to be a nature and play area, but instead her children have watched drug use from their bedroom windows, something she fears will not change if the site becomes official.
“How are they going to prove anti-social behaviour?” she said. “It’s literally right next to a house without any real barrier. I feel really uncomfortable. I think that everyone has to have a place to live, but maybe they can put that outside a residential area.”
Elderberry Walk consists of 161 homes built in 2024 and sits parallel to the site
The planning application is currently at the recommendation stage.
Maelo Manning is reporting on Southmead as part of Bristol24/7’s Community Reporters programme, aiming to amplify marginalised voices and communities often overlooked by mainstream media. This initiative is funded by our public, Better Business members and a grant from The Nisbets Trust.
All photos: Maelo Manning
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