Dark reality of life in UK’s caravan ‘shanty town’…...

HIDDEN under the shadow of an Ikea superstore, this so-called 'caravan city' reveals the stark reality of life for those without a home to even furnish. Freezing in below-zero temperatures with no heating and working delivery jobs around the clock, residents in the dingy motorway layby say they have nowhere left to go after being priced out of the housing market in trendy Bristol. With its historic cathedral, iconic Clifton Suspension bridge and rich tapestry of culture, the popular city attracts more than 21 million tourists each year.

Image Credit: The Sun [Person walking past caravans parked near an IKEA store.]

But despite its picture-perfect attractions, it also has the highest number of caravan and vehicle dwellers in the country, an ugly reminder of the housing crisis afflicting thousands across Britain. Last year, we reported on the sudden surge of van-lifers around Clifton Downs, which sparked a backlash from furious residents near the picturesque fields. While council chiefs eventually cracked down on the estimated 600 to 800 living on roads around the area, another community closer to the city centre is growing larger by the day.

Image Credit: The Sun [Caravans parked near a highway overpass.]

Many of the inhabitants of the new site at New Stadium Road, a cul-de-sac next to the busy M32, are gig economy workers who work endless hours for companies including Deliveroo and Uber Eats, locking up moped scooters next to ramshackle mobile homes. A small number are Uber drivers, while a minority are local people who have fallen on hard times. A handful were revealed to be immigrants in breach of their visa conditions, following a raid on the site last year.

Image Credit: The Sun [Aerial view of caravans parked near a waterway and a large parking lot.]

The conditions here are a stark contrast to those of the more cheerful Clifton Downs, with rubbish piled in corners and bottles of what appear to be urine leading to unpleasant questions about the apparent absence of toilet facilities. Although you are legally allowed to park a caravan on the road, it is not legal to permanently live and sleep in one as this would require planning permission. A chef and market stall trader who wanted to remain anonymous told The Sun: “I was living with two of my friends, then they got girlfriends and so I was forced out and had to find somewhere else to live. That was five years ago.

Image Credit: The Sun [A sanitation worker in an orange uniform pushes a cleaning cart past a row of caravans.]

“I went viewing places, but they were out of my price range. I’d been paying £550 plus bills. "My budget for a new place was about £700, and I wanted to get a place by myself, but as soon as I started looking, I realised that just wasn’t going to happen. “One flat I went to view, an agency invited everyone at the same time. There were 35 people, and even though it was damp and mouldy, as soon as someone made an offer someone would offer more.

Image Credit: The Sun [Clothing and footwear hanging on a fence.]

“From that moment I knew I wouldn’t be able to find a place in Bristol. That night I went and bought a caravan. "I would have been homeless if I didn’t buy a caravan because I only had three days left. “I stay here just because we haven’t been moved on. Other places you just get moved on every three or four weeks by the council. “It’s good for me for work, as I just work down the road.”.

Image Credit: The Sun [Woman with pink hair in a rainbow sweater sits in a wheelchair with her dog.]

On the day The Sun visited, temperatures were just 3°C in the middle of the day, having dropped well below freezing the night before. The man admits: “In the winter it’s really cold. I’m lucky to have heating, but I’ve got three friends who live here, English lads, and they don’t have any heating. "They manage by wearing two tracksuits and having two blankets, you wake up and your nose is ice cold, but the rest of you is warm.

Image Credit: The Sun [Discarded items including a teal bag, wooden cabinet, and plastic containers near a fence.]

“I spend between £50 and £150 on gas, depending on the month, but that’s significantly less than living in a house. I’m saving money now, whereas before I was living cheque to cheque. “I’m saving for a business, I want to start my own business, so hopefully won’t be living here forever.”. By Julia Etherington. The tales of two caravan cities in different parts of Bristol are poles apart.

Image Credit: The Sun [Several caravans parked near a billboard that says "HIGHVIBE".]

Surrounded by opulent homes, the caravan dwellers near Clifton Downs are mainly from professional backgrounds. Some have made homes from old horse boxes or converted vans, with all the mod-cons, soft furnishings and even working baths. The dwellers are mainly happy in their chosen lifestyle, even if the cost of rent was the catalyst for squeezing them out of the bricks and mortar they were used to. The atmosphere there is friendly, the neighbours are chatty and it has a community feel of ‘everyone is in the same boat’. They take pride in their surroundings, cleaning up rubbish and keeping the outside of their homes clean and tidy.

Image Credit: The Sun [Aerial view of caravans parked along a road in a park.]

Bristol Council has tried to move them on, but it’s such a nice spot, they inevitably come back. Walking through the second site at New Stadium Road felt eerie, like I was walking through a shantytown tainted with desperation and sadness. Rubbish littered the surrounding mounds of dirt. Old, tatty-looking caravans were almost in a state of disrepair. While the neighbours do talk to each other and do have a community, it seems most of the South American men there must surely be missing a family back home, who they were probably providing for.