Residents Answered But Three Years Later BCP Still Has No Solution

BCP’s Lib Dem led administration must explain what happened to its promised feasibility study and why residents are still waiting for action on long term vehicle occupation along the Overcliff.

Residents did what BCP Council asked them to do. They considered the evidence and participated in a formal public consultation. BCP then failed to deliver a solution. The consultation was approved by the Conservative led administration in December 2022 and ran from 23 January to 19 February 2023. It included a proposed Highways and Car Parks Public Spaces Protection Order restricting overnight sleeping in vehicles.

The consultation attracted 1,564 responses. Overall support for the restriction was 51% but among respondents living within the BCP area, support rose to 68%. When the results returned to Cabinet on 26 July 2023, political control of the council had changed. The incoming Lib Dem led Cabinet decided not to proceed with the Highways PSPO but instead Cabinet approved commissioning a feasibility study into designated facilities for vehicular sleeping, caravanning and camping. The council report estimated that this work would cost £10,000.

That could have produced a balanced solution, appropriate restrictions protecting residential roads, alongside properly managed designated provision elsewhere. However more than three years later, BCP has published no clear outcome from that promised work, delivered no designated facility and introduced no effective solution for the affected roads.

Jo Keeling, Deputy Chairman Political of Bournemouth West Conservative Association, has submitted a Freedom of Information request asking:

• Was the feasibility study commissioned?
• How much of the estimated £10,000 was spent?
• Which locations were considered?
• What reports, assessments or recommendations were produced?
• Who decided not to progress the work?
• Why were residents not informed?

Jo said, “The Conservative led administration began a substantial public consultation. The incoming Lib Dem led Cabinet decided to pursue a different solution and approved commissioning a feasibility study estimated to cost £10,000. Residents are still waiting to see what that work produced. The administration cannot simply replace delivery with another round of meetings and expect nobody to ask what happened.”

Residents around Boscombe and Southbourne Overcliff have supplied photographs and reports concerning extended stays, waste and sanitation, fires, obstructed pavements, restricted sight lines and repeated reactive clean ups. This is not an attack on every motorhome owner, nor is it a demand to disregard people experiencing homelessness. BCP has two separate responsibilities. Anyone who is genuinely homeless or vulnerable should receive an individual assessment and appropriate housing and welfare support. At the same time, the council must manage its highways, protect public spaces and address unsafe or antisocial conduct.

Compassion and enforcement are not opposites. Leaving somebody indefinitely in a vehicle without proper facilities is not an adequate housing policy and expecting one residential community to accommodate a constantly changing roadside campsite is not a sustainable parking policy. Other councils provide designated motorhome stopovers with facilities, charges, time limits and enforcement. BCP could consider similar provision at an appropriate location away from residential roads and sensitive clifftop areas. Such facilities should serve touring visitors, while anyone living in a vehicle through necessity must continue to receive proper housing support. 

Instead of publishing the outcome of the 2023 feasibility work, BCP has embarked upon another process involving a proposed Community Pact. Its recent informal survey received only 16 responses, while an initial listening session involved five vehicle users. Those views deserve to be heard but they cannot be treated as representative of everyone affected. Residents, businesses, highway professionals, environmental health officers and users of nearby parks must receive an equal voice.

Jo added, “This is no longer simply a debate about whether designated motorhome facilities are a good idea. It is a question of political accountability. BCP knew about the problem, consulted the public and approved further work. Residents are now entitled to know what happened to that work and why the promised alternative was never delivered.

The council should publish the evidence, set out the available options and provide a firm timetable for action. Residents do not need another conversation about having a conversation, they need BCP to do its job.”

After years of acknowledged problems and more than three years of Lib Dem led control, the administration must explain what happened to the feasibility study and finally produce a workable plan.

Sources  BCP consultation decision, January 2023 and BCP Cabinet report, 26 July 2023.