Neighbours rage as Green council plans to turn illegal traveller site into 'safe legal home' for van-dwellers

Such sites offer temporary, managed accommodation with water, toilets and waste disposal facilities.

Van dwellers currently occupy the plot without permission - with neighbours labelling the situation a "nightmare".

Under the scheme, occupants would apply for pitches, sign licences and pay weekly management fees plus council tax.

The authority last week ordered hundreds of van dwellers to vacate the wealthy Clifton area, directing some towards meanwhile sites.

Ronda Golding, 53, a lifelong Southmead resident, said: "I think it's disgusting. The council don't care about our views on anything."

She added: "I have sent over 100 emails, and not one has been responded to - the council are glorifying van dwelling."

Joel Rodolpho, 54, who works at Southmead Hospital with his wife, is now contemplating leaving the area despite concerns about his property value.

He reported his young son being disturbed at night, parcels intended for van-dwellers arriving at his home, and food deliveries at all hours.

Mr Rodolpho called the prospect of a legal meanwhile site a "nightmare".

One anonymous resident said she feels her life savings have been lost after purchasing her home beside the site.

She said: "How are they going to prove anti-social behaviour? It's literally right next to a house without any real barrier. I feel really uncomfortable."

She added: "I think that everyone has to have a place to live, but maybe they can put that outside a residential area."

Some locals warn of a stark contrast between enforcement in wealthier neighbourhoods and the plans for Southmead.

One objector called the plan a "deceptive move to relocate van dwellers from the Downs in richer, more affluent areas of Bristol to poorer areas in Bristol, such as Southmead".

Another asked: "Why was Lanercost chosen? Because it is primarily social housing, so nobody cares."

Labour councillors Kaz Self and Kye Dudd said the situation has eroded community trust.

They told Bristol24/7: "The council has burnt through a lot of residents' goodwill by refusing to take their concerns about the unlawful encampment seriously and looking like it had encouraged the van dwellers to go there in the first place."

Van-dwellers are unable to live on some roads around the Downs after the council was granted an extension to an anti-social behaviour injunction.

The councillors described the council pursuing legal action while simultaneously applying for a meanwhile site as "quite a bizarre contradiction".

Barry Parsons, the chairman of the council's homes and housing delivery committee, defended the programme.

"Over the past year, we have been working hard to increase the number of safe, managed meanwhile sites for people living in vehicles," he said.

Mr Parsons added that meanwhile sites "play a vital role in offering security, access to basic amenities and a sense of stability for people who have spent long periods living roadside".

He also confirmed that council officers had met with the group multiple times for welfare checks and to discuss alternatives.

Legal action was taken only "as a last resort", he added.

The planning application is currently at the recommendation stage - while council will return to court later this month to continue possession proceedings.