"Our Town Becomes UK's Caravan Capital: 131 Vans, Overflowing Rubbish, and Abandoned Mobile Homes Create Chaos!"

BRITAIN’S van dweller capital faced calls to declare “state of emergency” with some 131 caravans and mobile homes dotted along its streets.

Glastonbury in has long been known as a haven for alternative lifestyles but – and locals have now called for action.

Aerial photo of caravans parked on Morland Road, GlastonburyCredit: Jon Rowley Rubbish dumped near a row of caravans in the townCredit: Jon Rowley Locals in Britain’s hippiest town say they overrun by van dwellers and have called on the council to actCredit: Jon Rowley

Last week councillor Susannah Hart called for “a state of emergency” to be declared,.

She accused the council of moving at “a snail’s pace” – but Somerset Council has since turned down the proposal.

Locals are divided between wanting to help the occupants and wanting to protect the quaint market town.

When our reporter visited the town this week we found piles of waste and rubbish, clearly abandoned .

Some residents back the call for a clean up – while others said the councillors’ language is “dehumanising” and “inflammatory”.

It has previously been said Glastonbury has the highest density of van dwellers in the UK, according to the area’s MP.

The council told The Sun working on a “number of actions” to look at the rise of caravans.

Lifelong resident Dave Howden, 64, who runs a manufacturing , said: “I get that everybody’s got to live somewhere and people choose to pursue an alternative lifestyle but at the roadside isn’t the place for them.

“I’d say most of the caravans are parked illegally, half haven’t been lived in for six months or more.

“They are just dumped but the council seems powerless to remove them.

“It’s having a negative impact on locals businesses because I’ve had customers turn up and see the mess and just go ‘what the f*** is going on here’.

“All I can say is… that’s Glastonbury.”

Another resident who declined to be named said they were “sick of the sight” of the vans.

They said: “I have no issue with people wanting to live an alternative lifestyle but just because they want to live surrounded by piles of rubbish doesn’t mean the rest of us should be forced to.

“On top of that when the council comes to clean up their mess it’s the rest of us having to pay for that.”

Many of the hippies used to live in a derelict former factory called the Zig Zag building.

But locals say the shanty town recently underwent a clear-out, leaving huge piles of rubbish, clothing and sleeping bags dumped opposite in a makeshift tip that also includes builders rubble.

With the waste dumped on private land locals have clubbed together and crowdfunded the to clear the site.

As of February, figures show 131 caravans have been parked up around the town.

Many locals said small numbers of people seeking an “alternative lifestyle” have been welcomed for years.

But some services are now being pushed to breaking point.

One resident Lilavati, 56, who sells jewellery from her market stall is a success story having arrived aged 18 and lived in vans and temporary accommodation for years before moving into a permanent .

She said: “Some of the vans look rough and you can see they are struggling but some are really beautiful.

“People come here because they are individuals and they have come here to get away from what they consider to be the mainstream.

Mountains of rubbish can be seen throughout the townCredit: Jon Rowley More than 130 ramshackle caravans are clogging up roads and car parksCredit: Jon Rowley Caravans parked on along the road in GlastonburyCredit: Jon Rowley Some of the caravans in the area have been abandonedCredit: Jon Rowley

“Before Covid you could a room very cheaply but recently it has become really expensive, people don’t realise a lot of the people in vans used to live in houses here but cannot afford it any longer.

“It’s hard, nobody can afford £1,500 in rent alone.

“For me living like that was very freeing, some people don’t want to live in bricks and mortar.

“There are people with serious drug addictions or mental health problems because of the situations they have been pushed into.

“But calling it a state of emergency is dehumanising.”

Craig Jackson, 39, a crystal seller in the town, said: “There’s a lot of people who live in vans and there are some mixed feelings about it and some people are quite opinionated about it.

“I have lived in a van, not in Glastonbury but when I have travelled around the country.

“If they want to live that way why shouldn’t they? Why can’t the council just find space for them?

“Nobody likes to see the mess left behind, as a trader I have to dispose of all my waste but I think the councillor’s language is inflammatory, these are people and if you treat them with respect they will respond but if you just treat them like a problem they won’t.”

Low earners say they have been especially badly hit as evict them before the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force next month.

Lisa Hall, 53, who works three jobs to make rent said: “It’s really obvious there’s just not enough housing and landlords charging high rents or turning houses into is pushing people out.

“Rents have been extortionate since Covid and I have just been evicted. I am negotiating for another place but it means my rent will go up £400 per month. If that fell through I could even end up in a van.

“Living in a van is a hard way of life and there is a lot of mental health and addiction issues as a result.

“But I have never had a bad run in with a van dweller and I think people who just say they want them gone are being callous.”

The issue was raised at a Somerset Council meeting about gypsy and provision last month.

The council has been working to secure a site for the “non-bricks and mortar” community.

Jewellery seller Lilavati, 56, said many people could no longer afford rent pricesCredit: Jon Rowley Craig Jackson, 39, a market stall worker said the councillor’s language was ‘inflammatory’Credit: Jon Rowley Shop worker and chocolatier Lisa Hall, 53, said living in a van ‘is a hard way of life’Credit: Jon Rowley

Councillor Hart said: “I do feel now that we’re in a situation where actually we need to call this what it is – a state of emergency with relation to the lack of availability of a travellers’ site.

“We as a council are quite happy to declare emergencies around other issues – this now is an emergency.

“If you consider the numbers in Glastonbury alone, it’s 138 on the roadsides as of March 25, plus another 80 on a site in the town which isn’t really an allocated site.

“Everyone recognises that Bristol has a huge issue trying to deal with this, but if the size of the problem in Glastonbury was equivalent to the size of the problem in Bristol, there would be 12 caravans in Glastonbury.

“For me to say this needs to be addressed at pace, I think is pointless, because we don’t seem to really and truly know what pace is – other than a snail’s pace.”

A spokesperson for Somerset Council told The Sun: “We are already undertaking a number of actions with regard to the gradual increase over time in vehicle dwellers in Glastonbury and we take our role in managing the impact on local communities as well as supporting people in need very seriously.

“Our range of work will include understanding the causes of the increase, identifying safe and lawful alternative sites, and considering what further enforcement action can be taken.”

The council has been working to secure a site for the ‘non-bricks and mortar’ communityCredit: Jon Rowley