News / Van Dwellers
Van dwellers could move to ‘meanwhile site’ on former railway line
Residents whose homes overlook a former railway line have reacted angrily to news that a ‘meanwhile site’ for van dwellers could be created on the land for three years.
The proposed site is behind the Lodekka pub in Brislington, running from Talbot Road and underneath the Bath Road bridge.
The last train used the line in 1968 and the land has previously been used as a car park as well as an unauthorised encampment.
Bristol City Council now want to use the site for up to 30 pitches with space for one live-in vehicle and one driving vehicle, installing a mains water supply, and providing ten portable toilets for the new residents.
A planning application says that “should the council no longer require the use of the site before the temporary 3-year period has lapsed, the site will be returned and made available for subsequent use”.
In 2022, planning permission was granted for a new cycle and pedestrian path on the disused line, with 50 shipping containers for use by local artists due to be placed next to the new route. But this scheme has never got off the drawing board.
One entrance to the former railway line is next to the car park of the Lodekka pub – photo: Martin Booth
Writing on social media, Brislington West councillor Andrew Varney said that he and his Lib Dem colleague Jos Clark “support the idea of properly managed sites for people in need”.
But Varney added: “However, given the years of unauthorised encampments in this location local residents have endured, we are concerned about the effective running of the site to ensure no negative impact on nearby communities.”
Bristol City Council’s planning documents say that meanwhile sites “are managed to ensure as little disruption to neighbouring properties as possible”.
The management team is said to be able to “address concerns proactively” with site users having to sign a license to occupy their pitch which could be revoked if they breach its conditions.
The council also say that now “is a timely opportunity to increase the current number of meanwhile sites” which they describe as “a practical (and) compassionate solution” to the large increase in the number of people living in vehicles across Bristol.
At the end of 2025, one meanwhile site with 14 pitches was unveiled in Lockleaze, with others planned for Lanercost Road in Southmead, and Western Drive and Albatross Road in Hengrove.
The last passenger train along the route ran in 1959 with freight traffic ceasing in 1968 – photo: Bristol City Council
So far on Bristol City Council’s planning portal, objections far outweigh support for the scheme.
One person said: “I believe a temporary relocation of such a site will only become a gateway to its permanent move to Brislington…
“This is not a solution but merely a transfer of an existing issue for the sake of making it appear to ‘disappear’ from a more prominent area of Bristol and sooth residents from there.”
Another person asked: “How would you feel if 30 dwellings were parked at the bottom of your garden?”
They added: “Find another place not near homes. This is a crazy solution. Is this what we pay our council tax for? This is unfair and this should not happen.
“Put them up in the old Bristol Zoo car park. Oh, hang on, you wouldn’t do that to Clifton residents so don’t do it to Brislington residents.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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