00:00For the people living around Lanocost Road in Southmead, this has become a dispute about much more than planning policy.
00:07What was once an unauthorised vehicle encampment on a patch of land near newly built homes could soon become an
00:13official council-managed meanwhile site under plans submitted by Bristol City Council.
00:18If approved, people living there would be able to stay legally with access to basic services including water, toilets and
00:24waste disposal.
00:25Residents would also have to apply for a pitch, sign a site licence, pay weekly management fees and pay council
00:31tax.
00:31The council says these sites are designed to offer greater security and stability for people living in vehicles whilst also
00:37reducing problems also linked to unauthorised encampments.
00:41Councillor Barry Parsons, who chairs the council's Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, says meanwhile sites play what he calls a
00:47vital role in offering security, basic immunities and a pathway towards more settled housing.
00:53He says every pitch created represents a safer place for someone to live and offers stability for people who've often
00:59spent long periods living roadside, adding that meanwhile sites are not intended as a permanent answer to Bristol's housing pressures.
01:07Parsons also says neighbours at official sites have generally reported very few issues once they're open because they're managed, monitored
01:14and operate under clear licensing rules with regular council presence.
01:17However, some local residents disagree.
01:21Dozens of objections have now been submitted to the planning application, with some arguing the proposal risks antisocial behaviour and
01:28unfairly places the burden on one part of the city.
01:32One resident says she's spent months trying to raise concerns with the council and believes local objections have been ignored.
01:38Another neighbour says buying a home next to the site now feels like losing a life's savings, with fears over
01:44property values and concerns about living directly beside a managed encampment.
01:48Other residents have described deliveries arriving at all hours, noise during the night and uncertainty about how any future complaints
01:54would be monitored or enforced if the site becomes permanent.
01:58Some have also questioned why legal action was used to remove van dwellers from roads around Clifton and the Downs,
02:04while Southmead is now being considered for an authorised alternative.
02:08One objection submitted to planners described it as relocating a problem from a wealthier part of Bristol into poorer communities.
02:15Labour councillors for Southmead, CAS, South and Kai-Dud say the situation has damaged trust and described the council's legal
02:24action alongside the planning application as a contradiction that's left residents confused.
02:30The council insists legal action against the current unauthorised occupation remains ongoing and says officers only took that step as
02:38a last resort after repeated welfare checks and discussions with those living there.
02:43For now, the application remains at the recommendation stage with a final decision still to come.
02:48Whatever happens next, this has become part of a much wider argument over housing fairness and whose Bristol's future is
02:56really being planned for.
02:58For now, the application remains at the same time, the application remains at the same time.
02:58For now, the application remains at the same time.
Comments