The city’s green space is a popular spot for motorhome and campervan owners – but locals and a new activist group is demanding action and calling for them to be banned.
Motorhomes and campervans are set to face a massive setback as a popular hotspot is on the brink of banning vehicle parking. A petition demanding an end to vehicle dwelling has garnered over 8,000 signatures. The activist group “Protect the Downs” made their case at a Bristol City Council meeting, advocating for the removal of larger vehicles from the historic green space.
In a statement shared with the BBC, the newly formed Protect the Downs group stated its aim to “hold Bristol City Council accountable for enforcing laws, restrictions and bylaws”, which ensure the Downs remains available for “legitimate public use”.
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The group expressed concerns about “irresponsible driving and obstructive parking” by van dwellers posing a threat to pedestrians, health and safety risks due to “overcrowded, unsanitary and dangerous conditions” and environmental damage caused by litter and human waste, reports Birmingham Live.
“We’ve come together because we love the Downs, but this wonderful green space relied on by residents across Bristol is being misused and that’s putting people in real danger,” said chair Tony Nelson
“Children, the elderly, council workers and even emergency responders are at risk, and the environmental damage is heartbreaking.”
Amy Dickson, 35, has been residing on the downs since last year. She moved into a van after she was evicted from a series of rentals in the city: “I’ve always been in minimum wage jobs. My family don’t have any money. I can’t get a guarantor. I just can’t afford to rent any more.”
The council has pledged to establish 250 temporary pitches on land earmarked for development by the end of the year.
“We’ve all parked together and it is really nice,” she said. “It is awful to receive so much hate.” She continued: “We have jobs here.. that is talking out of total privilege. It is so ignorant.
“Cracking down on one location in the absence of better alternatives, just means people will move somewhere else,” Barry Parsons, the Green chair of the housing committee, said.
“People living in vehicles are fellow residents of Bristol and we have just as much responsibility to support them as anybody else.”