Van dwellers Council yet to establish any new 'meanwhile sites'

No new space for vehicle dwellers on council-owned land has been allocated, two months on from the council's latest plan to tackle the issue.

- Angus MCINTYRE

In September, Bristol City Council announced the launch of its new policy in response to the hundreds of people living in vans and other vehicles across Bristol. A cornerstone of that policy was the massive expansion of the number of so-called 'meanwhile sites' offered by the council essentially plots of land which contain council-run pitches that vehicle dwellers can occupy for a small weekly fee.

The council set itself a target of having 250 such pitches available by the end of March 2026. That appeared ambitious; when the policy was launched the council only had 65 pitches on offer across five sites, with a promise two further sites were due to open "soon" to bring the total of available pitches up to nearly 100.