BRISTOL City Council has promised to take immediate action to tackle vehicle dwellers defecating on The Downs.
Senior Councillors Barry Parsons and Stephen Williams said in a statement that officers had found several sites being used as organised toilet facilities.
“We recognise that the increasing number of lived in vehicles on the Downs presents significant social, health, and environmental challenges, and with this in mind, we have recently received evidence to classify the group of vehicles living around the Downs as ‘high impact’ under our current policy.
“Quite simply, this is not acceptable and presents a significant public health issue,” they said.
“Clearly, we cannot just stand back and allow this to happen. We have a duty to make sure the Downs is accessible to all and that we are not allowing parts of it to become ‘no go’ zones. Human waste represents a serious hazard to anyone using the Downs, particularly young children and pets who may play in bushes.
“We have taken some immediate actions to mitigate these initial public health risks. Bristol Waste have been on site to clear the affected areas and will return regularly to remove any further waste, and we are looking at what additional measures we can take.
“We appreciate this is not a long-term solution, and we are currently working on an enforcement plan to begin to move the group of lived in vehicles from the Downs. We appreciate that moving such a large group is not going to be an easy task, and will require a lot of coordination, but we cannot allow a public health risk to continue.
“We are also aware that most vehicle dwellers will not be engaging in this sort of behaviour, but now that this issue has been identified and confirmed, we have to take action to put an end to this behaviour and make sure the Downs remains open to everyone.”
Housing chair Cllr Parsons and Cllr Williams, chair of the public health committee, said they were working towards longer term solutions. Two engagement workers will work with vehicle dwellers and further moves towards ‘meanwhile’ sites with facilities are under way.
Sharon Scott, Vice Chair of Protect The Downs, said: “We believe that through our sustained efforts and the pressure we have applied to Bristol City Council, the authority has finally recognised that the vehicle dwellers on the Downs constitute a ‘high-impact’ encampment. While this acknowledgement is a step in the right direction, we want to ensure the council follows through on its commitments and addresses additional concerns, including unauthorised vehicle parking on the highway and the need to support those who are genuinely homeless.
“There is still considerable work to be done behind the scenes, so our efforts are far from over. We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us in this cause — your backing has been essential to achieving this progress.”