An IT professional from Somerset, fed up with the housing crisis, swapped renting flats in Clifton for life in a van on the Downs, sparking debate amid rising complaints from nearby homeowners. Craig Collier, 43, has called the grassy expanse home for three years, defending his choice despite a flurry of objections last week from residents near Bristol’s Downs about the growing number of caravans.
Earning £60,000 annually, Collier argues that renting locally would still stretch his finances thin while lining a landlord’s pockets. The issue of van dwellers—estimated at 800 across Bristol, the highest of any UK local authority—reignited last week as Bristol City Council’s housing policy committee met on February 14 to explore support options, prompted by a quadrupling of vehicle residents since the pandemic.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Collier reflected on his journey: “I’ve lived across the UK and abroad, but the West Country is home. I spent most of my life in houses and flats until 2022, when I moved into my converted Sprinter van. Over these three years, I’ve watched this lifestyle boom and my city adapt—some changes for better, some worse. Stigma’s the real hurdle. Sure, there are a few troublemakers, but that’s true anywhere.”
He pointed out that even Bristol’s priciest streets aren’t immune to everyday mess—like overflowing bins or neglected drains—adding, “We’re all human, flaws and all.”
The Downs, where about one in 10 of Bristol’s van dwellers reside, sits near affluent neighborhoods like Stoke Bishop, Westbury, and Henleaze, amplifying tensions with wealthier residents. Meanwhile, the typically younger, less affluent van community struggles against soaring property costs. “I’ve always adored the Downs,” Collier said. “I rented on Apsley Road for three years, lived in three Clifton Village flats, and walked my dogs here daily. Now, debt-free and well-paid, I still can’t afford rent. But the Downs remain my home—I don’t lose that just because I stopped funding someone else’s mortgage.”
Collier contrasted his stable van life with the chaos of renting: “In three years, no landlord has sold my home out from under me. My only worry is the annual MOT. Before the pandemic, I was forced out of three rentals by owners cashing in.”
Bristol’s rental market, now the UK’s second priciest after London, has seen average rents leap from £767 a month in 2014 to £1,756 last April, per the Office for National Statistics—more than doubling in a decade without the salary boosts Londoners enjoy. The council’s proposed fixes include support sites with water, waste facilities, and laundry, possibly in supermarket lots or repurposed areas like Knowle West and Hartcliffe.
Critics often note van dwellers dodge council tax, a sore point near the Downs’ high-tax zones, though Collier counters they miss out on services like trash pickup and boast a lighter environmental footprint. “My carbon impact’s lower than ever—no daily car commute, no heating a whole house,” he said. “I’m more connected to Bristol—the people, the vibe—than someone in a house bought decades ago for a fraction of today’s prices. Back then, that got you a mansion; now, it’s a tricked-out van. And somehow, that annoys them.”
| Visit for More News and Updates | WSOA NEWS |
