Van dweller tax could move them 'back to kerbside'

People living in vehicles on "meanwhile" sites in Bristol have said plans to charge council tax on their pitches could lead to some of them moving back to live on the side of the road.

The council set up the sites, which provide basic facilities on derelict land, to try to bring down the number of van dwellers living on kerbsides.

People living there will be expected to pay Band A council tax of £35 per week from April, alongside the £30 weekly pitch fee. The authority said it is "working closely" with van dwellers and offering help to apply for any discounts.

Geren, who lives on one of the sites, said: "It's going to push people to leave the meanwhile sites and go back to kerbside."

The community mental health worker lives on one of the sites. He said the vast majority of van dwellers are "more than happy to pay towards council projects" but the banding that has been proposed is "unfair".

"The issue I have is that we're being valued as a Band A property when we don't have any of the same rights or resources that normal tenants do," he said.

"It's essentially a 6x6m pitch on a disused car park, with untested, potentially unsafe drinking water, and we're already paying for waste removal and portaloos," he added.

While pitch fees are intended to cover the cost of servicing the sites, council tax pays for a wider range of local services.

Van dwellers are not able to use their pitch as a postal address when registering to vote. The council has suggested this is because they can't guarantee secure post-delivery to individual pitch spaces.

Geren added that paying council tax on top of the pitch fee could be the "tipping point" for some van dwellers moving out to roadsides.

Previously the council has used its discretion and not charged council tax on the meanwhile sites, which were first established during the pandemic.

The decision to introduce the charge has come as the authority seeks to increase the number of spaces available across the city.

Ann, a vehicle dweller whose name we have changed, said she is "grateful" to the council for setting up the spaces, but is not willing to pay council tax "under the current conditions".

"I'd like to understand their motive," she said. "Is it to appease people who are against vehicle dwellers?"

Councillor Barry Parsons, chair of the homes and housing delivery committee, said the council is "working closely with people living on our Meanwhile Sites to explore any support available to them, including the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, and offering help to apply for any discounts and exemptions they are entitled to".

He added that he wants meanwhile sites to be an "affordable and viable option" for vehicle dwellers.

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