Anger grows over BCP’s failure to tackle clifftop motorhome encampments
Residents in Boscombe and Southbourne have accused BCP Council of dragging its feet over clifftop motorhome encampments
Residents and councillors have accused BCP Council of failing to act on long-running concerns over motorhomes and vans being used as overnight accommodation along the Boscombe and Southbourne Overcliff Drive.
Hundreds of residents attended a community meeting demanding action, with concerns raised about blocked sightlines on coastal bends, gas canister fire risks, litter and human waste being left in public spaces.
One resident said children had previously played in areas where toilet paper and human faeces were now being found.
“It’s one thing to park a van and it’s another thing to set it up as a campsite and move in on a public road,” they said.
Meeting organiser John Porter said residents felt the council was failing to respond to the scale of the problem.
He said: “The reality of the situation is you’re looking at five or six long-term van dwellers against many, many hundreds of residents who are paying local tax and feel they’re just being ignored.”
Mr Porter called for a straightforward restriction preventing vans from parking overnight, between 6pm and 6am.
The dispute dates back to 2023, when a public consultation found that 72% of respondents supported a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order restricting overnight sleeping in vehicles on the highway.
However, BCP cabinet members voted against proceeding with the ban in July that year and allocated an estimated £10,000 for a feasibility study.
Residents say they have never seen the study.
Jo Keeling said the council had consulted residents, received a clear response and then failed to provide evidence of what happened to the promised follow-up work.
Frustration has intensified after the council’s recent “Van Life Listening Enquiry”, which attracted only 16 responses across the conurbation.
Labour councillor George Farquhar criticised the process, while Conservative councillor Bobbie Dove said residents had been “treated appallingly”.
The issue also raises wider questions over the use of valuable public parking space and how the council balances overnight vehicle restrictions with access to its seafront.
Cllr Richard Herrett, cabinet member for destination, leisure and commercial operations, said concerns about antisocial behaviour, obstruction, litter, waste and abandoned vehicles were taken seriously.
He said enforcement action was taken where appropriate and that the council was considering information from residents, councillors and stakeholders, alongside studies and consultations.