Van dwellers argue safety concerns being used as ‘excuse’ to drive them out

Van dwellers living on the Downs have claimed councillors’ ‘safety concerns’ are being used as an excuse to drive them out of the area.

Their comments come after Green councillor, Paula O’Rourke, expressed concerns about the use of gas canisters by van dwellers on the Downs in April.

Speaking at a Downs committee meeting on Tuesday, April 25, the Green councillor and chair of the committee said: “There’s an issue with van dwellers there, but equally there’s an issue across the whole city with van dwellers.

“So a lot of things have to be looked at, like where else would van dwellers go? Should we also perhaps look at meanwhile sites that are available across the city?” she added.

“I don’t know who’s happy with the fact that we’ve got more and more van dwellers parking up there, being less and less safe.

“The last time I was up there, I saw so many gas canisters outside, and that just really did freak me out. There are concerns that there’s going to be a major fire up there one day.”

However, according to a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset fire and rescue services, crews have not been called out to a single fire caused by gas canisters on the Downs in the last two years. Bristol24/7 contacted councillor Paula O’Rourke for comment.

Liam Gooding, a Bristol resident who has friends who live in vans on Parry’s Lane, called the parking charges “a blatant cash-grab.”

“I’m not saying the situation is good, but adding parking charges to the whole of the Downs is a blatant cash-grab and they’re relying on public frustration about a small community to get it through,” he told Bristol24/7.

Bristol24/7 spoke to an engineer who was living in a van on Parry’s Lane, about the recent calls for stricter parking measures in the area.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Bristol24/7 they felt that the use of gas canisters were being used as an excuse to move van dwellers on.

“Gas canisters are actually less dangerous than most gas used in people’s homes,” he told Bristol24/7.

Another van dweller, Ben Butson, told Bristol24/7 people are “quick to be cut-throat” about people living in vans.

“You’re allowed to stop and put your vans on this part of the road,” he said.

“As much as people don’t like them being here, imagine how it is when you are forced to live in a caravan because you can no longer afford to live in the city you want to live in.

“Half the people that are in these caravans are the people that make this city. So many shops, artisan shops, food stalls – it isn’t people who are coming from these big houses, it’s these people who are living in the underbelly and trying to get by.

“They see it as us tarnishing a beautiful piece of land, but would they rather us on their doorstep? A lot of people don’t understand, and are quite quick to be cut-throat about it.”

The Bristol resident of 33 years has had odd jobs in the city, and has often moved to a van when work has been tight.

“There is hostility to a degree, because people are different and come from different walks of life,” he said.

“ There will always be someone that is going to get offended. I think there should be more education on both sides of the fence.

“The reality is that if there was more assisted housing, council flats, and affordable housing, then there probably wouldn’t be so much of a problem. But that’s just not how it is.”

The council has the power to move van dwellers on through an enforcement policy aimed at people living in mobile homes in Bristol.

Coming into play in 2019, the policy gives the council permission to evict van dwellers without the need for special court injunctions.

Bristol24/7 has contacted Avon and Somerset police about anti-social behaviour at the site and Bristol Waste about waste around the site.

Main photo: Mia Vines Booth

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