On the 28th June this year, the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (and specifically sections dealing with unauthorised encampments) became law.
Essential, this will mean that Trespassers who set up camp illegally on other people’s land or in local communities could face up to three months in prison, as a new criminal offence becomes law.
Cracking down on antisocial people causing misery by setting up illegal camps and refusing to remove their vehicles, delivers on a key government manifesto commitment.
Under the new guidance, the harms potentially caused by unauthorised encampments could include – but are not limited to – instances where:
·there is excessive littering, noise or smell – including from bonfire smoke
·a local resident is verbally abused or intimidated, or fears leaving their house to avoid walking past an encampment
·local communities are prevented from accessing sports fields, parks or car parks
·property on the land, or the land itself has been damaged – including farmland
For the first time, unauthorised encampments on highways will be covered, as well as on public and private land.
The new criminal offence will be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 3 months, or a fine of up to £2,500, or both, and/or seizure of the vehicle.
You would think that this would speed up the process of removing the illegal encampment on the Downs, and other parts of city, but sadly this hasn’t been the case yet.
Your Conservative Councillors in Stoke Bishop & Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze wards have written to the Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Shelford, asking assistance in seeking robust police engagement with this Act to remove illegal traveller encampments.
We will keep readers updated, as and when we have further information.
In the meantime, to report any concerns regarding occupied vehicles on the Highway, further information can be found here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/report-a-street-issue/tell-us-about-people-living-in-vehicles-on-the-road
To report any abandoned vehicles, you can do this by visiting:
