Business owners in Bristol say a road has 'descended into a slum' with people injecting drugs in view of schoolchildren, fly tipping and defecating on the street.
Other problems plaguing New Gatton Road in St. Werburghs, north-east central Bristol, are illegal caravan dwellers who allegedly discard drug needles onto the streets.
Now businesses have hit out at Bristol council for not taking action to clean-up the area and protect children.
Wholesaler BL Flooring and brewery Fierce & Noble say used needles are regularly discarded and “vegan propaganda” graffiti sprayed around the area, Bristol Live reports.
BL Flooring complained to Bristol City Council about the caravans on an almost daily basis, but says none have been removed since last March and claims some have been there more than a year.
After a complaint by nearby climbing centre Bloc Climbing, the Local Government Ombudsman last month found the council had been negligent in addressing the encampment.
It ordered the council to pay Bloc Climbing £750 in compensation.
-
Mum transforms battered caravan into bohemian holiday home – and it cost just £230
-
Travellers can build on '£3m site’ bought for bargain £95k despite court order to leave
BL Flooring transport manager Pete McNaughton said: “Our lorries go up this road all day. On many occasions, doors of caravans have been opened into the road, nearly causing accidents.
“Someone is going to get killed on this road. Children walk the gauntlet every day through the rubbish and discarded needles on their way across the M32 bridge to school.
“It is only a matter of time before a school child is injured or infected.”
Bristol Live found seven caravans on New Gatton Road, which is just off the M32, on February 12. Several others were parked on nearby streets.
Broken glass and nitrous oxide canisters surrounded the vehicles, while a sofa, oil drum, tarpaulins and wooden planks had been flytipped next to them.
One caravan’s door bore the message: “If you pay for housing you’re being robbed.”
New Gatton Road restrictions mean people can only park there for three hours at a time on weekdays from 8am until 6pm.
In a letter from last April, Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees wrote to BL Flooring that “due to missing or damaged signage, [council parking services] can only enforce the first bay and have requested new signage.”
-
Men who hid £60 million of cocaine on yacht jailed for a total of 33 years
But when Bristol Live visited this week – almost 10 months on from the letter – the parking restrictions sign was defaced with graffiti.
Mr Rees’ letter also said the council was working to secure injunctions for the caravans to be removed, but Mr McNaughton, 49, claims the council has not enforced any removals since then.
“If the caravans parked up outside Marvin Rees’ house, how long would they be there?” he asked.
“This is not a joke. It’s a serious point – it’s about the livelihoods of those who depend on our business surviving, and they are all at risk.”
BL Flooring director Martyn Jones, 46, added: “I employ 27 people and have six lorries running from this unit.
“If someone gets killed in an accident because of these caravans, we would have to close down pending an investigation. That is 27 families losing their livelihoods.”
Mr McNaughton says drug use and dealing are daily occurrences under the M32 bridge.
He claims two women were injecting drugs into their arms on the afternoon of February 11, allegedly in the full view of St Werburghs Primary School pupils who were crossing the bridge.
Mr McNaughton says he has also witnessed people defecating on the pavement.
“We have old sofas, chairs, tarpaulins and broken furniture strewn all along the road," he added.
"Old bits of bicycles, gas canisters and plain old rubbish from the caravans build daily.
“Although it does get slightly cleared by Bristol Waste, other bits will be left, which in turn get added to. Then it happens all over again.”
He added that people start wood-fires on the pavement, causing St Werburghs to descend into a “slum”.
Mr McNaughton said: “As soon as a prospective client comes along and sees the state of this road, they just walk away.”
Fierce & Noble sales manager Ed Townsend says the issue has led to an “unsavoury” environment for customers making their way to the tap room based on Mina Road.
The 39-year-old said: “It probably does put people off – there’s drug abuse, rubbish, graffiti and people urinating.”
BL Flooring put a sign in place on New Gatton Road two years ago, directing lorry drivers to its site and advertising the business.
“Within two days it had been vandalised,” Mr McNaughton said. “By now, it’s been tagged beyond recognition.”
The defacement of the sign has led to confusion among drivers visiting BL Flooring.
Mr McNaughton said: “They go the wrong way, up Gatton Road, and they’re unable to turn.
“Then you have articulated lorries reversing all the way down the road. It’s so dangerous.
“We have witnessed many near-misses and road blockages, as there is just no room to manoeuvre around all the caravans.”
Graffiti along the wooden fence separating New Gatton Road from Gatton Road says in huge green letters: “Change system now.”
Mr Townsend said: “It’s usually about rebellion, anarchy and veganism.”
And Mr Jones added: “Five years ago it was a lovely wooden fence, but the council gave up painting over the graffiti four years ago.”
When the ombudsman found it had been negligent, the council was ordered to pay £750 to Bloc Climbing
It has paid the compensation, issued a formal apology to the climbing centre and assured the centre it will deal with the encampment.
-
Caravans teetering on cliff edge after huge section of land crashes into sea
After launching in 2014, Bloc Climbing paid around £3,000 for the parking restrictions to be put in place on New Gatton Road, which the council had imposed as a condition of its opening.
A spokesman for the centre said: “We’ve battled the council for years to get them to properly enforce the parking.
“Our customers come up at the weekend, turn up and can’t park anywhere because of the caravans, so they park on double yellows and get a ticket.
“Those customers never come back to us again. It’s a farce.”
BL Flooring says vehicles are often illegally parked in the bays for weeks before they are ticketed.
Mr McNaughton said: “We are told injunctions are being sought, which obviously costs the taxpayer.
“Some of the caravans will then move across the M32 for three months or so and will then return so the whole waste-of-money exercise can start again."
He believes caravans should be towed as soon as there is a breach of the restrictions.
Mr Townsend added: “If they parked up in College Green, they would be gone.”
-
Caravan park dubbed 'rubbish dump' as new rules force families to quit holiday homes
BL Flooring claims Mr Rees has not responded to email complaints since last April, and says Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire has not done so since last March.
“The businesses along this road pay our rates and to be frank we now cannot see the point,” Mr McNaughton said.
“Money is being taken from us fraudulently, in our belief, and we are not seeing any action from anyone in so-called power to make a change.
“Those in power will still be taking a salary to sit in ivory towers while everyone pays for that entitlement.
“Perhaps it is time for us to seek legal compensation from the council for its inactivity or perhaps we should all just stop paying for a service that we certainly do not receive.”
A spokesman for the council said it recognises the “health and safety impact” on the community.
He added: “Vehicles being illegally parked in New Gatton Road have already been the subject of an injunction obtained by the council and issued with notices to leave the area.
“We are now taking steps to pursue further legal action following the breach of this injunction. This legal authority is required to allow us to remove illegally parked vehicles on New Gatton Road.”
Inspector Justin French said Avon and Somerset police are aware of problems with illegal drug use and antisocial behaviour in the area.
He added: “We’re working with our partner agencies to tackle the issue in addition to carrying out targeted patrols of the area.
“We’d always encourage people to report offences to us so we can understand the scale of the problem and if anyone sees a crime taking place, please call 999 straight away.”
Ms Debbonaire described the antisocial behaviour as “extremely unpleasant”.
She said: “I am in regular communication with several local residents about this and my caseworkers regularly ask the council for updates on their work to resolve this.
“It is not right that people and businesses in the area should have to put up with such squalid conditions on their doorsteps.”
St Werburghs Primary School has been approached for comment on the concerns for the safety of its pupils.
Source: Read Full Article