Bristol City Council to seek injunction over Downs van dwellers
Bristol City Council says it is "taking proactive steps to apply for an injunction" to prevent people living in vans on a popular public green space.If approved, the injunction would apply to the grassed areas of Durdham Down and would allow officers to move pitched vehicles off more quickly.Most of the vehicles currently on The Downs would be exempt as they are parked on adjacent roads.Councillor Barry Parsons said he recognised the challenges an increase in van-dwellers had raised, and said the council was looking at solutions which worked for all parties.
"Fundamentally we want to make sure that all communities, including those living in vehicles or caravans, and those in homes in neighbourhoods, have a meaningful and fair chance to live healthy and safe lives. "This means we need to take action on a number of fronts to make sure we are balancing the needs of everyone, whilst prioritising our efforts where the need is greatest," he said.
A similar injunction, which expired last year, was previously in place in the area.And in 2023, an injunction was imposed on people living in vehicles in Greenbank, east Bristol.The council estimates there are currently between 640 and 680 lived-in vehicles and caravans across the city, which does not include the number of transient Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups who visit Bristol throughout the year.The local authority said it was "supporting those living in vehicles to remain healthy and safe and have the support needed to move into more settled accommodation".Its longer-term plan is to create up to 250 spaces for people living in vehicles on land which is due to be developed.People at the site would have access to facilities like running water and toilets, as well as health and wellbeing support, it said.Mr Parsons, who is chair of the council's Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, said the ultimate goal was a "single policy, co-designed with communities and van dweller groups, reflective of the various challenges and views associated with this growing issue".
Between 200 and 300 people gathered on The Downs on Thursday evening for a protest walk to "highlight the impact of council inaction on public wellbeing"."We're here to show our strength of feeling to the council that this is a situation that can't be allowed to continue," said one walker.Some supporters of the van dwelling community were also in attendance."I feel like a lot of people here own their own homes and benefited from the post-war economy where you could be a postman and buy your own house or have a minimum wage job and get a mortgage - that dream has gone," said Matthew Strange."I wish some more people would understand the context by which these circumstances have arisen," he added.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Lime bikes dumped in canals and rivers 'posing pollution risk'
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According to the Environment Agency, electric bikes pose a pollution risk because the batteries contain substances that can enter a watercourse if they remain submerged in Canal and River Trust said the number of Lime bikes being dumped nationally "could be into the thousands"."Whilst the quantities are a concern, and this is a drain on our resources, it's worth remembering one bike alone can easily cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a boat, tens of thousands of pounds of damage to canal infrastructure, and an incalculable value of damage to wildlife," said Dick Vincent, the charity's national towpath charity has asked Lime to cover the cost of retrieving the bikes, but an agreement has not been reached."If I'm being honest, I would like them to answer their emails and get back to us," said Mr Vincent."They seem to be ignoring this as a problem, and that's a real shame." Toni Robinson, founder of the Little Litter Pickers of Nottingham, said her group had retrieved 23 Lime bikes from just a short stretch of the River Leen, in the Bulwell area of the said she had written to Lime but the company had not responded to her."I would like them to stop them ending up in the river," said Ms Robinson."We're trying to keep the river clean from pollution and then we've got these bikes that are polluting the river more than probably any rubbish we've ever found was."Ms Robinson is particularly concerned because e-bikes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and she is worried about substances entering the believes Lime should have docking bays to keep the bikes locked up unless people pay to ride them."I think young people get bored and think 'I'll throw it in the river'," said Ms Robinson."It's just been ongoing. We pick one out and there's another one in there." Ethan Radford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, is so concerned he has been putting on waders and entering the River Leen himself to retrieve the Lime said it started happening after the Lime scheme was introduced two years ago, in spring 2023."On one particular occasion I think we pulled out about five bikes in one day," said Radford, who has been helping Ms Robinson's group."There's obviously the environmental concerns. These things don't belong in the river. It's a natural habitat." The Environment Agency said it was in the process of setting up a meeting with Lime following "repeated attempts" to do so."The disposal of electric bikes or other waste into rivers can cause environmental damage, affect water quality, and harm aquatic life," a spokesperson said."Whilst we have pollution concerns, we primarily remove the Lime bikes from the River Leen in Nottinghamshire and other watercourses in the area such as Nethergate Brook and Ouse Dyke, to prevent blockages and reduce flood risk to local communities." Who is dumping the bikes? The consensus is Lime bikes are being dumped in water by people who steal them, rather than paying bikes do not need to be physically locked in place at parking locations, which makes it easier to steal bikes do have a pedal-locking mechanism, but this can be "hacked" so that people can ride them without Robinson said she had witnessed this herself."I know people can ride round with them with the alarm going off, so they can still use the bike without inputting any details," she said."There are often kids going past me on the street and it's going 'beep beep', and they're riding past as normal."In a statement, the city council's transport team said: "Evidence shows that it is exclusively non-customers who are causing issues, including abandoning bikes or dumping bikes in rivers and canals."Radford agreed. "It's not the people who are using the scheme that are causing the problem," he said."It's people who come along after that, see a row of bikes, take advantage and do something stupid." Can anything be done to prevent thefts? Radford believes the problem could be resolved if Lime required customers to lock the bikes in bays, as some hire bike operators do."There's nothing stopping you from pushing it around, putting it on the floor, putting it in the road, taking it over to the river, for example, if it's not locked into place," he Robinson added: "It would stop them being stolen and polluting our rivers."The BBC put this suggestion to Lime, and asked why it does not require customers to lock bikes up.A spokesperson said: "Lime has operated a mandatory parking scheme in Nottingham since the launch of our e-bike service here two years ago."This is enforced by accurate on-vehicle GPS technology and our new mandatory end trip photo process. Users that leave bikes outside of designated parking locations are warned and fined, with repeat offenders banned." How widespread are these problems? The Canal and River Trust, which manages waterways in England and Wales, said it was a problem wherever Lime had hire of the Lime bikes are concentrated around London, but there are also schemes in Greater Manchester, Nottingham and Milton previously ran a hire bike scheme in Derby, but pulled out due to what it described as "persistent issues with vandalism and antisocial behaviour".This included bikes being thrown into the River Environment Agency, which is responsible for managing large rivers in England, said it "regularly" pulled bikes out and took them to designated drop-off points. What has Lime said in response? Lime says it is "the largest provider of shared electric vehicles in the world", and it claims to provide a "sustainable" mode of transport by replacing car working with the agency and Canal and River Trust, Lime said: "We have engaged in ongoing conversations with the Environment Agency and Canal and River Trust and are eager to finalise a collaborative plan to address these issues."Lime says anyone who sees a submerged bike can report the location, and it will "recover it as soon as possible". "We always aim to promptly collect obstructive or misparked bikes reported to us via the 'report bad parking' function in our app within a matter of hours," a Lime spokesperson said."To improve our response time, we have significantly increased our on-street team by more than double in Nottingham."On pollution and environmental concerns, Lime said the deliberate dumping of bikes was "totally unacceptable"."It harms the environment and undermines our mission to create sustainable urban transport," the spokesperson added."We are committed to working with the local community, Environment Agency, and the Canal and River Trust to stop this behaviour."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
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How your hairdresser could convince you to go green: Experts call for roll out of 'eco-stylists' to encourage Brits into sustainable lifestyles
Once a trip to the hairdresser's involved nothing more challenging than a chat about your latest holiday. Now it seems a quick cut and blow dry could come with a conversation about your carbon footprint. Experts are calling for state-sponsored eco-stylists to nudge clients towards sustainable lifestyles. It comes after a pilot scheme found that what we chat about in the salon changes our everyday lives. A report revealed chatty stylists are the perfect influencers to subtly bring about behaviour change. Hairdressers have previously been trained to spot signs of domestic abuse. In the pilot scheme – called Mirror Talkers – stickers carrying green tips were stuck to salon mirrors to spark conversations, and 73 per cent of people subsequently pledged to make planet-friendly changes to their haircare habits. Now ministers are being urged to back schemes that could see subliminal lectures in unlikely places – including cafes, restaurants and farmers' markets. The latest study – led by Oxford University and the Government-funded Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations – wants to tackle 'pluralistic ignorance relating to climate action'. It claims hairdressers have 'considerable untapped potential regarding the influence [they] could have on clients'. 'While researchers can equip people with the tools and knowledge to become better at public engagement, in fact, hairdressers are already experts,' it says. The authors, convened by Oxford's Dr Sam Hampton, envisage salon chats 'beginning with haircare as a point of connection, but expanding to broader conversations about energy, transport, food, investments, carbon literacy and intergenerational responsibility'. Calling for funding, they concluded: 'Yielding the power of everyday influencers to build public consensus is an under-utilised strategy which demands new approaches to climate policy.' The latest study also involved the Universities of Southampton and Utrecht in the Netherlands.
