Spaces for dozens of caravans will be created with running water, toilets and bins
The site is currently a bare expanse of concrete(Image: Google)
Dozens of newly approved caravan pitches in South Bristol have sparked fears from local residents over smoke and pollution. Bristol City Council is planning to create up to 60 pitches for caravans at the former Whitchurch Sport Centre on Bamfield.
The sport centre closed in 2021 and was demolished in 2024 and the site is now a wide open expanse of bare concrete. The “meanwhile site” will only be temporary, and forms a key part of the council’s plan to provide alternative pitches for people staying in caravans on the Downs.
Councillors on the planning committee A voted to approve permission on Wednesday, April 22. The 60 pitches will be split over three plots, which each will contain a water standpipe, bin storage and toilets. This is progress in the council’s target of creating 250 pitches this month, although the total still falls short so there won’t be enough to relocate all the Downs vans.
Around 180 members of the public objected to the planning application, citing concerns over crime, safety, noise, pollution and fears the site would be an eyesore. While nobody attended the committee meeting to speak to their reasons for objecting, some residents sent in written statements ahead of the meeting.
Paul Tuckwell said: “The likely use of diesel generators and solid fuel heating presents a well established risk of harmful emissions, including particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, yet no attempt has been made to quantify or assess the impact on either future occupants or neighbouring residents.”
Opening the site will be staggered into three phases, with a third of the pitches at a time. At each phase, council staff will gauge the potential impact on the wider neighbourhood, addressing concerns of local residents living nearby. No timescales have yet been set.
In the longer term, the land belongs to Goram Homes, the council-owned developer. Goram is planning to build permanent homes on the site, as part of the wider Hengrove Park development. This means the caravan pitches won’t be staying there forever.
Green Councillor Toby Wells said: “I do sympathise with some of the nearby residents who have experienced the consequences of unmanaged squatting, fly-tipping and other antisocial behaviour over recent years on this particular site. We do have to stress that this is a different situation.
“This is a managed site. I’m very convinced about the way that the GRT [Gypsy Roma Traveller] team is going to manage the site to make sure that those kinds of impact aren’t felt by the local community. In terms of the site itself, I think it’s a textbook definition of what a meanwhile site should be.”
Councillors on the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans. Planning permission for the site only lasts three years, after which another application would be needed. This will bring the number of approved pitches in the city to 158 and the site could be ready to open later this summer. But the council is still almost 100 pitches short of its self-imposed target this month.
After the meeting, Green Cllr Barry Parsons, chair of the housing committee, said: “Over the past year, we have been working hard to increase the number of safe, managed Meanwhile Sites for people living in vehicles. While we had to revise our target of providing 250 Meanwhile Site pitches by April, we remain fully committed to expanding Meanwhile Site provision.”
A second site in Lockleaze was due to open this month, but some issues with installing the water pipes have held this up. The team are working with partners to resolve this issue, and it is hoped they will be able to have the site open as soon as possible. Three other sites are planned at Lanercrost Road in Southmead, Tramways in Brislington, and Western Drive in Hengrove.