Council promises action on roadside caravans

Caravans on the roadside at Roman Way in Glastonbury

A council has promised to step up enforcement activity on roadside caravans parked in a town.

It comes after Councillor Susannah Hart called for urgent action to deal with the "unprecedented challenge" in Glastonbury.

She claimed that the town's ratio of regular homes to caravans was 23 times higher than Bristol.

Somerset Council also said plans for stopover, transit and permanent sites would become an "increasingly significant" part of the creation of its new local plan.

Ms Hart said Glastonbury has 23 times more roadside van dwellers than Bristol

Speaking at a council meeting last week Ms Hart said no permanent traveller site had been identified and existing enforcement activity had been ineffective.

"There is no other town in Somerset – or indeed the entire country - experiencing this scale of the issue. Despite this, Somerset Council has failed to deliver a viable solution," she said.

The council said the latest count showed approximately 150 vans and caravans on the roadside, with an estimated 300 people living either on the roadside or on council-owned or private land.

The Glastonbury town deal committed to providing new permanent and temporary travellers' pitches on Porchestall Drove, creating accommodation for the "non-bricks and mortar" community.

The council scrapped these plans last July due to flooding and has been seeking alternative sites.

A public spaces protection order (PSPO), which changes unlawful encampments from a civil matter to a criminal offence, was passed unanimously by Mendip District Council in September 2022.

The council's deputy leader Liz Leyshon said: "A recent application for funds from this council will help us develop a pan-Somerset approach for stopover, transit and permanent sites for those with the protected characteristic of Gypsy/ Roma traveller, as well as others – including many from the Glastonbury roadside community."

She also confirmed land at the Morlands site on Beckery Old Road was "in the process of being transferred to a community land trust as a site for the development of a permanent, off-road living space".

Ms Leyshon blamed the lack of enforcement on the transition to the new unitary council and the measures required to deal with its financial issues.

In a written statement, Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, said: "I will work with my executive colleagues to look again at the potential for that PSPO on overnight stays on the highway."