Hi, I’m Tony Nelson, Chair of Protect the Downs community action group. We are raising funds to protect our unique parklands as tranquil, safe and clean spaces. Our parks are where people and nature come together, where families can meet, and where people without gardens can enjoy some space. Parks are not for van dwellings, slum letting, or hiding from the authorities.

Our parklands are now being destroyed because Bristol City Council have said that they won’t stop van dwelling there despite the overwhelming evidence of sex offences, threatening behaviour, dangerous driving near children, pollution, anti-social behaviour, and more.

We will use funds for legal action to force Bristol City Council to follow their own policies for protecting the parklands relied on by tax-paying voters. We must show that it’s not okay for Councils in the UK to prioritise a few hard core van dwellers who don’t want housing because it comes with bills, don’t want traveller sites because ‘they are not nice’, enjoy the flexibility of a van dwelling lifestyle, and then hide the truly vulnerable in the process.