Residents of Glastonbury, often referred to as ‘Britain’s Hippiest Town’, have found themselves at odds with an influx of ‘van dwellers’ due to the deteriorating state of the area.
The Somerset town, long associated with the hippy movement and alternative lifestyles, has seen a recent wave of nomads living in vehicles, leading to escalating issues.
Locals accuse these new arrivals of littering, drug dealing, and negatively impacting public health. They claim that waste is being dumped on streets and excrement spread along paths, making the area unsuitable for children.
Ben Anderson, 29, from the nearby village of Street, claims that the caravan-dwelling newcomers near their gym in Glastonbury are causing chaos. He stated: “One woman who drives a BMW, I’ve sat and watched her in my office and she’s clearly a drug dealer.” He added: “I’ve seen her come round the back of her caravan, squat down into a bucket and pour the poo into the street.”
He continued: “We used to use a 400 metre long loop as a running route as part of our training, but we can’t now with the flies, the midges, the whole lot, it’s disgusting, it’s vile. “He also mentioned witnessing violent disputes among the group, saying: “We’ve seen many times where they’ve been arguing with each other, and fights as well, with axes chasing each other.
“Another local, Maisey Durston-Cavill, 30, has lived in Glastonbury all her life. The situation has reportedly deteriorated in recent years, with travellers residing on the street for up to two weeks.
Despite numerous complaints to the council and police from her and her fellow gym-goers, little progress has been made in improving the condition of the road where the caravans are parked.
She revealed: “We did an event here in summer last year, and there were three guys walking down past us with a machete. ” She added that many gym members bring their children, making the situation unsafe.
“We’ve seen many times where they’ve been arguing with each other, and fights as well, with axes, chasing each other.”
She also mentioned the unpleasant odour and rubbish build-up near the skatepark, which is primarily used by children. “It’s 100% worse now. I don’t remember this as a kid. We do know they’re getting evicted, which is why the owner of our gym has paid for a new fence, to get our space sorted, as they’ve come in here before.” Mr Anderson added his experience: “When they were evicted from one of the units a while ago, they got annoyed and snapped the locks to our gym and superglued them too.
It’s vandalism. ” Among the caravan dwellers is Deej McCloud, a 36 year old who leads a nomadic lifestyle. He cites legislation that makes it an offence to force entry into an occupied building as his right to squat and live in a caravan. However, he has faced threats from Glastonbury residents. Mr McCloud expressed his frustration, recounting an unwelcoming incident: “When I first pulled up to where I am, someone banged on my window saying I shouldn’t be there.
There’s now a crack in it. ” He highlighted the community issues he’s been trying to address: “I’ve tried to build a greater cross-community focus.
There have been multiple deaths, mental health issues and it’s the most vulnerable who suffer. ” Mr McCloud also pointed out practical difficulties: “There’s a lot of sites around here without rubbish disposal.
You can’t go to the tip without a licence. It’s not always straight-forward to take your rubbish to the tip these days.
It’s a pain in the bum. ” He praised the NHS for pushing the council to provide essential services during Covid, noting that when facilities like showers and bins are provided, they are used. “The NHS pushed the council to provide services in Covid, which proves that when showers and bins and the like are provided, they are used.”
Mr McCloud called for a change in public perception and policy: “I want the public to see us as an asset not a nuisance. What the authorities have done at the moment is create an ‘us and them’.
“Moving us on isn’t solving the problems. There’s a duty of care which hasn’t been upheld.”
He invoked Gandhi’s wisdom on the treatment of society’s weakest members: “Gandhi said a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members. All the great philosophers of our time have understood that.”
Fellow resident Ron Brown, 59, also weighed in, pointing fingers at the council for local issues: “There’s a litter problem everywhere. ‘It’s not just travellers, and the council has a responsibility to keep it clean.
It’s the same with public services, if you have a public convenience, like toilets, keep it clean or close it. Brown touched upon the rights of travellers under ancient law and the challenges they face: “I think travellers under ancient law are allowed to move around.
“And it becomes a greater problem if they just dump their litter. But I honestly don’t have an answer to it.”
He added, “As much as it’s annoying, it’s not life-threatening at the moment, and I think people just need to be a little bit more Christian and more caring in their approach – these people need to live somewhere.”
He questioned, “We’re not a poor nation, despite what we say, but we can’t move these people out of a £1000 caravan and put them in a £2000 a month rental apartment somewhere. Who is going to pay?”
A spokesperson for Somerset Council responded: ‘Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police do work together with landowners and our communities, as necessary, to tackle anti-social behaviour when it’s reported.’
They continued, ‘Over the past five years much work has been done by the council and partners, and this continues, funded by the Town Deal, a Government initiative. It includes:
*Support for roadside and vehicle dwelling communities, including housing advice.
*Working towards development of a traveller site or sites both permanent and transit, as an Enabling Project in the Town Investment Plan.
*Where necessary, Highways schemes on the roads around the Tor to prevent overnight parking an unauthorised encampments, as well as enforcement on the site of the Zig Zag building and neighbouring trading estates.’
A representative for Avon and Somerset Police stated: ”We work closely with Somerset Council, landowners and communities to tackle anti-social behaviour in Glastonbury. We urge people to report any incidents either to the council or the police.”
