Van dwellers hit back at order to leave the Downs over 'encampment' accusation

Van-dwellers parked have been ordered to leave a leafy part of a city - after being accused of an 'encampment'. Bristol City Council it attempting to remove a group of caravans and camper vans parked on Parry's Lane and Saville Road on Clifton Downs.

Notices have been attached to several vehicles parked in the popular picnic spot saying they need to vacate the site within 14 days. The notice states "failure to do so may result in the council taking legal proceedings to remove you and the vehicles".

It states that abandoned vehicles will be removed too. Reasons for the notice include proximity to residential properties and inappropriate disposal of human and general waste.

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A few of the vans have already moved on - but many dwellers now face the decision of where else they can move to, or risk taking it up with the council in court.

Several of the dwellers feel they've unfairly been "grouped together" by the council - who referred to them as an "encampment" - when it is the minority who are responsible for the waste. Some say they've been left stressed and angry by the council's measures - and claim they're not doing anything offensive.

Dave Turner, 24, works as a technician and has been living in his caravan on the Downs for two months. After getting the letter from the council a week ago, he said the situation has been keeping him up at night.

He said: "It's not good. One of the reasons the council gave was our waste disposal, but most of us do it the proper way. They say we're too close to houses but I can't see many houses around here.

"I work in Bristol if I moved, I can't think of anywhere I could go that would cause less irritation to people than here. It's very stressful I've been looking around as I'll have to try to move.

"I don't like how they've grouped us together and called us an 'encampment' - I'm here on my own. I haven't come with a group. I was fine until I got the letter and now it's keeping me up."

"A few vans have already moved onto a different road, but my van has solar panels so it would be a pain to move as the alternative is an area shaded by trees. This is the perfect spot really. If I had to move to central Bristol, I'd worry about my van - my home - getting broken into as well."

Callum Kennedy, 30, has lived in a van for three years - and on the Downs for a year of that. Originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he works in Bristol as a maintenance engineer - and was out at work when the council's notice was delivered.

He said he wasn't issued a notice asking him to leave - but rather one mislabelling his home as an 'abandoned' vehicle and saying they'll come and take it away.

Callum has since put a note in his window which reads: "This caravan is NOT unoccupied. if I am not here, I am at work - I can be contacted on [phone number] or ask a neighbour to contact me. Kindest regards, CK."

Like Dave, he found being treated as part of an encampment to be one of the most frustrating factors - and sees it as an instance of discrimination.

Callum said: "This place hasn't been treated as an encampment before, it was always treated as individuals on a case-by-case basis. But now they're trying to treat us as a site, but this isn't that - it's just people parking, they come and go.

"We're not an encampment, we're just individuals here. I know a couple of neighbours but we're not a collective as such."

"I think it's better when they treat us as individuals because there might be one person making a massive mess and being really loud, and another who is being an ideal member of the community. But they just lump us all together.

"It's like discrimination - we're all being tarred with the same brush. I think most people here deal with their waste properly. We haven't been given bins by the council, in other places I've been have had wheelie bins, they say they can't do it though."

"I think they're not giving us facilities so that they then have an excuse to move us on. It's just whitewashing travellers all across the city. It does feel a bit discriminatory, it's whitewashing people from the city.

"I don't know where they expect us to go. There aren't enough spaces at sites to accommodate everyone."

Unlike others, Callum has no plans to move - because he reckons he has grounds to defend his rights in court.

He said: "If it goes to court, I'll be quite happy because I have quite a lot of experience with the courts. We would have a good chance of fighting it."

Ed Smith, 28, has been on the Downs four months in his caravan, which he shares with his kitten, Honey. He moved to Bristol from the south east a year ago, and lived in a series of shared houses before deciding the lifestyle wasn't for him.

He works antisocial hours as he works in hospitality - and said the freedom of living in a caravan is ideal for him. Ed said: "I prefer living in a caravan to living in a house. There's so much more freedom, you open the door and there's nature right here."

"I love that I can just move anywhere, go travelling. It feels very homey, it's just good vibes. He said he felt annoyed when he got the notice from the council - because he doesn't feel he has done anything wrong.

Ed said: "I don't bother anybody here, if there was a bunch of junkies using drugs that would be more understandable, but I'm not doing anything like that. I just like living the simple life. It works for me."

"There's a lot of people living here because of the cost of living crisis too. I can understand it - when I lived in a house I was working lots of hours and most of my pay would go on my rent.

"I don't often tell people I live in a caravan because people say I'm homeless - I'm not homeless, I have a home. It has a toilet, a kitchen, a bed with a mattress, and my cat. It's a home, it's just a moveable home. People don't understand."

Bristol City Council said in a statement: "On June 12, the council's neighbourhood enforcement team visited the encampment on Parry's Lane and Saville Road to conduct a welfare check and assessment following complaints received from residents and councillors.

"During this visit, a letter was issued to occupants requesting they vacate the land in the next 14 days. This letter is an informal request and offers the vehicle dwellers the opportunity to open a dialogue about the concerns we have raised.

"The neighbourhood enforcement team remains in conversation with the occupants of the Parry's Lane encampment and will revisit the area on June 26 to assess if further action, as a result of any vehicles remaining on site, is necessary."