Local residents have criticized a council for its ‘nasty, shameful’ attempts to keep travellers from a park that it had created with wooden logs.
Horfield Common is now surrounded by large trees trunks in Bristol to “prevent unauthorised vehicles from accessing the grass”.
However, the additions of green spaces to public view have not been welcomed by everyone. A national charity was among the critics who criticized the “miserable” impact they had on the traveling community.
Bristol City council installed the perimiter. Bollards and benches have been added to keep vehicles off the field.
In recent years, illegal traveller encampments were established at the common several times, most notably in April, this year when the council began possession proceedings and issued trespass notifications.
Friends, Families and Travellers, a charity that represents the travelling community, said the latest measures ‘make peoples’ lives more miserable’.
After installing a wooden log perimeter around Horfield Common, residents criticized the ‘nasty’ and’shameful’ attempts by a Bristol City Council to ban travellers from Horfield Common.
One resident who requested not to be identified said she was disgusted when she saw the logs on the weekend.
Her comments were: “Blatant, unsavory attempt to keep people in vans and travellers from staying in places that are completely offensive.”
“And all the common became less available to everyone (and turned into muddy trenches). It is shameful.
Bristol Live spoke to the woman, saying that the logs had appeared shortly following a previous encampment.
‘The common belongs to the council but is common/public land, and in my experience the travellers really don’t take up much space.’
Philippa Hulme from Bristol City, who is the Horfield Ward councillor, stated in a Facebook post last month that logs would be placed around the common “to prevent vehicles access and to protect the green spaces.”
Many respondents supported the installation of barriers. Some said that it was “about time” to prohibit people from parking their vehicles and caravans on the grass.
Friends, Families and Travellers, a charity that represents the travelling community, said the latest measures ‘make peoples’ lives more miserable’. One resident who requested not to be identified said that she was disgusted by the discovery of the logs at the weekend.
Multiple respondents supported the installation of barriers. Some said that it was “about time” to prohibit people from driving their caravans or vehicles onto the grass.
Others felt that the move was not necessary and expressed support for the traveling community.
A spokesperson for Friends, Families and Travellers said: ‘Putting up barriers to prevent people from residing in a park is much like the anti-homeless benches popping up around the country – they are a waste of resource, make peoples’ lives more miserable and don’t actually do anything to solve the fundamental issue.
‘There is no point in telling people where they can’t go if you’re not telling them where they can go.
There is an acute shortage of safe places to stay for travellers and gypsies. If councils spent the same amount of time and effort making sure there were legal and safe places for travellers to stop in their area, rather than making travellers’ lives miserable, the world would be a much better place.’
According to the city council’s own list, there are two traveller sites in Bristol with 32 pitches between them.
The Ashton Vale site has 12 permanent pitches. Lawrence Weston’s transit site offers 20 pitches that allow stays up to 3 months.
In recent years, illegal traveller encampments were established at the common several times, most notably in April of this year when the council began proceedings to obtain a possession order and issued trespass notifications.
According to the authority, there’s also an “one ethnic Showpeople” site that has 12 plots in Bedminster.
According to a spokesperson for the city council, “Logs are placed around Horfield Common’s perimeter in an effort to stop unauthorised vehicles from accessing it.”
The local committee approved the work in November 2019, which included the installation of bollards and benches.
“The works were started by a former councillor for a ward and carried out by Community Infrastructure Levy-funded officers. The mayor and cabinet do not approve or take decisions on the area committees.