‘I feel helpless’: Van dwellers stranded on Bristol’s historic Downs | Housing

Callum looks up nervously from the darkness of his cramped, graffiti-splattered caravan, which he shares with a small kitten. It’s not much, but the alternative is the streets.

Two weeks ago, he almost lost the caravan he calls home when Bristol City Council began removing the housing vans from a tree-lined lane through historic parks in the north of the city.

“It was horrible. It was upsetting. (The council) took people’s caravans who weren’t there at the time,” he said. “I tried to stop them but I had to prioritize stopping them from taking me own house.”

Callum, 30, had to pay someone £20 to tow the caravan before it could be lifted onto the back of a council lorry. There are now five caravans left on Parry’s Lane, which they once lined up end to end.

Bristol has recently become the vehicle capital of the UK, with more people living on its fringes than anywhere else in the country. The number of council residential vehicles has increased from 100 in 2020 to 650 this year, accommodating around 800 people. Other hotspots include Brighton, Falmouth and Glastonbury.

The removals came amid growing tensions among some users of the 442-acre Downs, which is surrounded by Bristol’s biggest and most expensive estates and growing numbers of residential vans. Conservation group Friends of the Downs and Avon Gorge recently counted more than 60 residential vehicles parked on roads across the park, compared to six on a single road five years ago.

The vehicular occupants have been accused by some residents of using parts of the park as a latrine and leaving unsightly litter. Some complain that vans create “no-go” zones. But people who live in them say they have few options because they can’t afford rising rents.

According to the Center for Cities, they grew faster than anywhere else in the country. Bristol is now the second most expensive place to rent outside of London, with the latest ONS figures showing average monthly rents have reached £1,734.

Many of the vans have just moved around the corner. Callum is now parked 100 yards from his original spot, next to a thicket of bushes. “We’re being pushed around,” he said. “We’re treated like we’re not really citizens (by the council) and they don’t have a duty of care to us, which they do.”

Callum’s caravan can be stiflingly hot in the summer and unbearably cold in the winter, even with the wood burner he’s installed. Life on the road can also be dangerous, especially if you are vulnerable. Callum has dark purple bruising around his eyes and said he is struggling with unspecified issues. He is desperate to move to a more permanent place where he can get more support.

“I asked to be accommodated over a year ago,” he said. “I asked to be placed in a suitable place where the council could look after us.”

Friends of the Downs recognize that vehicle dwellers have limited options. There are five council-run sites with space for 60 vehicles, but all are currently full.

“We have a lot of sympathy for people whose circumstances force them to adopt this itinerant lifestyle,” said Robert Westlake, the group’s president. “That said, I’ve always felt that this situation took too long and was poorly handled.”

Westlake, who ran Bristol’s parks before retiring, said the growing number of vehicular dwellers had led to groves of trees in the park being used as outdoor toilets, causing classrooms to be canceled in open air for children. He added that residents complained about rubbish building up and on one occasion a £500,000 flat sale fell through.

Westlake, who also chairs the council’s advisory board for the Downs, blames the council: “A lot of the problems have arisen because services have not been delivered. They have nowhere to go to the toilet. There is no provision for fresh water and no provision for any of their waste to be removed.”

He said there were a few altercations when residents complained to residents about the vehicles. “I have not personally seen any (court). People called to say that when they asked them to leave or asked them to turn down the music, they ended up in a confrontation. But I think the word ‘bullying’ is a bit strong.”

The city’s first survey of vehicle dwellers this year revealed that the biggest reason for living in a vehicle is the inability to find or afford to live elsewhere – although others prefer a nomadic lifestyle or one that fits the patterns of itinerant work on the festival circuit.

Hali Vita recently arrived on the Downs with her little converted truck. She lives with her two children, who stay with her during the summer holidays. She wants permanent residency after years on the road. “It was fine when (the kids) were younger. But it’s just not achievable in one bed,” she said. “My self-employment doesn’t bring in enough at the moment (to rent in Bristol).”

The council’s survey suggests that one in 10 car dwellers have children under 18 living with them full-time or part-time.

Vita often works 60 hours a week, but says she can’t save enough to rent a property big enough for everyone. “I feel helpless. I have called the council but they are not a priority,” she said.

“I’m forced into this situation, but I’m done with it. Children need stability, a house and a garden. I can’t offer it now. It’s hard for me,” said Vita.

The survey also found that the vast majority of people living in vans are working, full-time, part-time or self-employed.

Max Haskins had been living in his van on Parry’s Lane for more than a year but moved elsewhere in the Downs before the council threatened legal action. He works as a carpenter, security guard and roofer, but hopes to branch out into van conversions soon.

“I’ve worked all my life,” said Haskins, 32, but he prefers life on the road. “It’s freedom. I move most weekends. I’m going to Cornwall and Wales. i can save I don’t have to chase paychecks.”

Bristol City Council said it had taken action to encourage van-dwellers on Parry’s Lane to move because of their increasing impact on the local area. It was monitoring the situation and interacting with the residents and people in the camp.

“As some members of the group have left and derelict vehicles have been removed, the group’s impact on the local area has returned to more acceptable levels, which we hope will remain the case,” a council spokesman said.