Bristol: van-dweller capital of UK (1 Viewer)

[St3v3]

Gromett

No that graph was housebuilding. Said it right in graph itself.

If the total housing stock does not keep up with the population. It doesn't matter if the housing stock goes to renters or buyers. When you have an increase in demand that is not met by supply prices rise. Basic economics. Whether that price is rent or outright purchase makes no difference it will rise.
Here it is again to save you going back.

View attachment 881833

That seems very low?

Financial year data for the year ending March 2023 show that there were 210,320 dwellings completed in the UK.

From:

House building data, UK - Office for National Statistics

Time series data on starts and completions of new build dwellings in the UK and local authorities, on a quarterly and annual basis.

www.ons.gov.uk

Loads of data here:

House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country - Office for National Statistics

Time series data on starts and completions of new build dwellings in the UK and local authorities, on a quarterly and annual basis.

www.ons.gov.uk

 

[St3v3]

When it comes down to it - the area near the Bristol Downs are very affluent with very expensive, pretty and historical housing. It's a lovely area.

Would you really want this on your door step?

View attachment 881858

Nearest doorstep is like half a mile away

 

[VXman]

Nearest doorstep is like half a mile away

A turn of phrase.

 

[St3v3]

A turn of phrase.

And sounds much worse than the facts.

I'm not sure your picture is even of the downs. I could be wrong.

 

[weejocky]

If you want rights over the road buy on a private road! I think just because you spent a lot of money on a house doesn't give you any more rights over who parks outside your house than anyone else otherwise we're moving back to a society where the aristocracy have rights over serfs and the law doesn't apply equally.

Thats an extreme argument to make a dubious point. Don't like noise from your unruly neighbours buy their house, Don't like litter in your street, buy the street and gate it. Those two examples are equally stupid. When you buy a house in a nice area you have an investment in keeping it nice.

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[Barti Ddu]

Nearest doorstep is like half a mile away

Yes- as you say, on the Downs in Bristol the van dwellers are not on anyone's doorstep, it's a vast expanse of open parkland.

However, there are areas closer to the city centre, for example on some of the residential squares near Gloucester Road and "The Arches", where a great deal of the available on-street parking is occupied by van and caravan dwellers, and I can understand how that leads to resentment from the householders.

The link below is to a BBC South West documentary from a couple of years ago all about van dwellers in Bristol. Fairly balanced report. Worth watching if only to understand some of the reasons that people end up living in vehicles, and what their aspirations are - for many, but not all - they would like to live in bricks and mortar if they could afford it. Big range of ages too - right up to an 80 year old gentleman living in an old Hymer, dealing with Prostate cancer and the onset of Parkinsons.

 

[The Wino]

Thats an extreme argument to make a dubious point. Don't like noise from your unruly neighbours buy their house, Don't like litter in your street, buy the street and gate it. Those two examples are equally stupid. When you buy a house in a nice area you have an investment in keeping it nice.

But equally in your examples if you have noisy neighbours but they are within the law there's little you can do. If the law of the land is being adhered to what action to people take over land which isn't actually theirs? Our first house was in London and at the time you could park outside on the street but on a first come basis. The bloke next door seemed to think he had more right to park outside his house than anyone else.....tough. Just because someone has a posh house doesn't mean they have any more rights over whats parked outside than anyone else.

 

[The Wino]

No it does matter how posh or expensive places are - but I would care if that was across the road from my house. It's not pleasant to look at and the value of my house would obviously fall. I do care about what I see outside my house. Why on earth do I cut the grass, plant flowers, keep it looking tidy, paint the house, not dumping rubbish on my doorstep etc etc .

You really don't care about what the surroundings you live in are like?

I wouldn't like it but I wouldn't expect to have any say over what parked on the road as long as it was legally done the road if it's a public one belongs just as much to the people parked there as it does to the house owners. As it happens we're on a private road ( by accident not by design) but parked nearly all the time just outside our gate is our next door but two neighbours home converted camper!

 

[VXman]

I wouldn't like it but I wouldn't expect to have any say over what parked on the road as long as it was legally done the road if it's a public one belongs just as much to the people parked there as it does to the house owners. As it happens we're on a private road ( by accident not by design) but parked nearly all the time just outside our gate is our next door but two neighbours home converted camper!

I'm aware that you cannot control what your neighbours do or who's parked on a public road but I'm sure we all chose where to live based on certain aspects of the surrounding area. I am not sure what the laws are regarding parking unhitched caravans and leaving piles of junk and rubbish around on a public road but I would hope there are some!

 

[Abacist]

We did something similar it's a pension investment for us too. We actually probably charge a little less than market rent and although as you say the percentage return just on rent isn't a fortune we have benefitted from an increase in property prices too (although that won't be certain until we sell). I do however think a lot of landlords aren't so reasonable in their approach for instance when our kids were at uni there were some landlords who would charge a lot in repairs at the end of the tenancy that I suspect were never done

Some University landlords seem to have a policy of forfeiting deposits but we fought our daughters corner who had decorated and improved her room and they backed down!

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[The Wino]

I'm aware that you cannot control what your neighbours do or who's parked on a public road but I'm sure we all chose where to live based on certain aspects of the surrounding area. I am not sure what the laws are regarding parking unhitched caravans and leaving piles of junk and rubbish around on a public road but I would hope there are some!

I think the junk and rubbish for sure can be removed and if it's possible the people leaving it held responsible. But as far as the caravans go it sounds like as they aren't registered as vehicles there's no law against them being there and the same goes for the campers. The council could pass a law restricting sleeping in caravans like in Whitby the question is whether it's going to be popular with the local electorate as a whole. Up here a lot of locals see motorhomes as a bit of a pain with a lot of stories about mess left in lay-bys ( I suspect by a very small minority but everyone gets tarred with the same brush) so parking restrictions have been brought in .

 

[InvictaMoto]

Brighton (Blighton) has dozens of them parked in at least 7 locations clusters of 20 vans, rv , MH , buses etc some never seem to move ...

Loads up by the racecourse when you come from the Amex direction. One big rusty US RV there recently used to be parked up on the side of the road at Rye Harbour for a few years... Some of them look really uninhabitable and some need a dozen levelers piled up to get them straight...

 

[Barti Ddu]

I believe that there are laws relating to abondoned vehicles that local authority can use to remove vehicles (presumably including caravans) from the highway. A lot of the caravans (especially in the more residential areas) of Bristol have notices on them stating, "This vehicle is not abandoned. I live here" presumably to ensure that they aren't towed away.

 

[tinkertaylor]

Think they have to have registration plate on them with a vehicle thats taxed, at least that's what my friend was informed when a car trailer was left outside his house by a neighbour, it had a reg plate on it police wasn't interested.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Think they have to have registration plate on them with a vehicle thats taxed, at least that's what my friend was informed when a car trailer was left outside his house by a neighbour, it had a reg plate on it police wasn't interested.

If a trailer or caravan isn’t attached to a vehicle it isn’t insured is my understanding.

If an ordinary copper turned up about vehicle related problems they probably wouldn’t know a lot about vehicle law.

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[dunnah01]

All this diatribe but no practical solutions

 

[Jim]

All this diatribe but no practical solutions

All those moans about the diatribe, but offers no practical solutions.