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Residents and councillors have clashed with some of the people living in dozens of vans parked on the streets of Easton.

As many as 35 vans, horse boxes, caravans and other large vehicles have been parked over the past year around Greenbank Cemetery, on both Greenbank View overlooking the cemetery and Greenbank Road at the foot of the slope.

The people who live in them insist they are not travellers, instead calling themselves van dwellers. They say they live in vans and caravans mainly because they have been priced out of renting or buying houses in Bristol.

The practice of living in a street-parked van is actually legal as long as the vehicle has its MOT and is taxed.

Some of the group now living in Easton called a meeting for their neighbours living in houses nearby to explain their presence and hear residents' views. More than 50 people packed out the church hall at St Anne’s Church in Easton on Tuesday evening as the two communities came face to face.

There was heckling and impassioned argument as people on both sides had their say, with residents outraged by reports of public defecation in the area and the misuse of toilets in the cemetery. But there was also a strong hint from the council that the van dwellers' time in the area could be running out.

Former church warden Carla Macgregor chaired the meeting, while Labour Easton ward councillor Ruth Pickersgill, Eastville ward councillor Sultan Khan and council enforcement officer Chris Swinscoe also attended.

The use of the public toilet on the cemetery grounds out of hours was raised by one of the van dwellers, who told the meeting his name was John, who had had a number of confrontations with the park warden.

That was greeted by a resident shouting: “You’re not supposed to go in there when it’s locked.”

A number of the residents believe the toilets have been left in a squalid condition.

One, named Keith, said: “It’s not his (the warden's) job to keep cleaning the toilets. He’s fed up with what you do.”

Another van dweller, called Austin, responded: “A lot of people are here because they care about our neighbourhood. The others that don’t might not be here.”

A resident, named Michelle, said: “The toilets don’t have the capacity to be public toilets. I have had a conversation with a man who ‘whipped it out’ and urinated right in front of me and tried to justify that. I have a six-year-old girl."

Some residents called for their neighbours not to generalise about the van dwellers over issues such as public defecation and drug use, which have been reported in the area.

But others complained that it was impossible to tell who was responsible, with one resident saying: “How do we know which ones? The back of my house has become a toilet.”

A van dweller called Richard said a number of those living in vans in the area used compost boxes and ‘pee bottles’ to dispose of their waste after the toilets closed.

Although there were differing opinions amongst residents, both sides eventually rounded on the council and said inaction on its part had caused problems on both sides. There was a mutual belief that a council-owned secure site away from residential areas would be best for all involved, especially given that the vandwellers options are living in the vehicles or on the streets.

One man who lives in a house near the cemetery said: “I was amazed by how many more vehicles there were when I walked down there. When does it stop? It feels like it’s going to be unsustainable.”

Resident Nelson Johnson added: “The council has been virtually silent about all complaints made about the issue. I call on Bristol City Council to take some proper action to resolve this.”

Chris Swinscoe of the council’s neighbourhood enforcement team responded that some of the vehicles - namely 11 caravans - have been given notice to move.

He said: “We currently don’t have any notices we can serve the van dwellers to get them to go. We have served 11 notices on caravans and they will have to move by October 8. We could be looking at a public space protection order (legal powers to criminalise a specific activity in a defined area) but that will take time.”

Mr Swinscoe added that one man had not been removed from Greenbank View – despite residents’ concerns about his behaviour - because of his mental health issues and the council’s belief he would end up sleeping rough.

A resident called Faith, who has lived in the area for 26 years, said: “People are finding a solution to a massive housing problem we have locally. These are people who are making the best of a very difficult situation.”

Another resident, called Trish, added: “There’s not enough affordable housing in an area that used to have a lot of affordable housing.”

Ms Pickersgill responded: “We are facing a housing crisis. We do need new housing quickly. We’re dealing with 10 years of neglect in terms of social housing and a government that has made it much, much harder.

“There’s been a lot of work to find a way out of this but it’s part of a much wider systematic problem.”

Mr Khan added: “It’s not a simple task, it’s a hugely difficult one.”

One resident demanded to know why council-owned sites couldn’t be opened up to give the van dwellers somewhere to stay, to which Ms Pickersgill replied: “I’m going to be completely honest; I don’t know.”

Austin, a vandweller, said: “We would happily rent toilets, we’d rent bins, we’d rent yards.”

“I am advocating that,” the Easton councillor replied.

Towards the end of the meeting, Ms Macgregor asked for a show of hands of people who were satisfied with people living in vans on the streets as a long-term solution.

Only two people out of the 50-odd residents and van dwellers raised their hands.

Councillors and enforcement officers are meeting on next week to discuss the situation in Easton.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the issue in this part of the city and are monitoring the area. Since 8th September, 11 notices have been issued to caravans on Greenbank View in response to community requests and concerns. Earlier in the year six caravans were moved following notices being served and one was removed after not complying with their enforcement notice.

"There is a legal requirement to allow the owners up to 30 days from the date of these notices to remove the caravans before the Council can take any action to remove them.

“We realise that this action doesn’t always solve the issue in an areas like this. There are many complicated reasons as to why we are seeing increasing numbers of people taking to living in vans and caravans around the city and elsewhere in the country.

"The council is committed to providing more affordable housing for the people of the city as a long term solution but is also currently investigating to see if anything else can be done to help in the short term."