Vehicle Sleeping Ban Proposal Withdrawn
KENT BARKER
Hastings Borough Council has staged an about-turn over plans to make sleeping in vehicles illegal in the town. The move follows swingeing criticism from the Independents group on the council and concerns expressed by other members.
The suggestion was contained in recommendations from officers debated at the council’s Cabinet meeting last week following reports of numerous complaints being received about sleeping in vehicles and caravans in roads such as St Helens Road, Cinque Ports Way, Sedlescombe Road North and Napier Road. Residents and stakeholders were to be asked, as part of a consultation into revision of the council’s Public Spaces Protection policy: “We are proposing to include a ban on sleeping in vehicles across the borough. Do you agree that this should be included in the Anti-social Behaviour public space protection order?”
Before the meeting, the Independents group of former Labour Councillors issued a strongly worded press release, erroneously suggesting this was settled council policy and describing it as “a shocking new proposal from the Green Party-led council” which was “disgusting” and “detached from reality”. It would, they said, “criminalise rough sleepers” and “punish” homeless people.
Following nearly two hours of discussion at the meeting of the Cabinet – consisting solely of members of the Green Party but with other councillors invited to speak –the proposal was agreed to be included in the consultation. The next morning, however, the Deputy Leader and holder of the Housing Portfolio, Glenn Haffenden announced that it had been removed from the Public Spaces consultation. In a press release a council spokesperson stated: “We have decided that as this is a complex issue we think it is more appropriate to consider our approach to people having to sleep in vehicles across the borough as part of the upcoming Housing Strategy consultation. This will also give key stakeholders such as those having to sleep in vehicles themselves, homelessness charities and a wide range of the public more time to respond and submit their views as part of the consultation.”
The original consultation on Housing Strategy is due to be completed by the end of May but does not include questions about sleeping in vehicles. These, according to the council’s website, will be discussed “later on in the development of the Strategy”.
As was reported in HIP 272, half of all those living on the streets of Hastings sleep in vans or other vehicles – with numbers of rough sleepers ranging from 16 to 40 depending on the time of year. As was also detailed, three homeless people are reported to have died over the last winter.
Park-and-Sleep: One councillor’s view
CLLR TONY COLLINS
Hastings is home to a number of van dwellers, and battered vans and caravans are familiar sights. In addition, a fair few tourists during the summer take up residence in campervans, often along the shore or at the country park, leaving behind them evidence of late-night parties. The council receives many complaints about both the van dwellers and the campervans – from our MP as well as residents.
In Rother, the District Council has effectively banned park-and-sleep anywhere in its jurisdiction. Should Hastings Borough Council do the same?
At the cabinet meeting on 31 March, Cllr John Cannan, who works for Seaview, said that such a proposal stigmatised and potentially criminalised the poor. Van dwellers – and, even more acutely, those living in cars – exist on the margins, and could certainly not pay any resulting fines. The measure risked driving the vulnerable from vans to tents. Cllr Paul Barnett observed that the matter should more properly be regarded as a housing issue, and should be referred to the housing task force.
The Green Group on council was also divided. Cllr Becca Horn expressed her concern to colleagues that it was unwise to lump the issues together, and underlined a point made in the meeting that inclusion of such a measure in the PSPO would not mean the vans would disappear overnight: removing vehicles, even if abandoned, is a slow process. Cllr Paula Warne – who has been homeless and has slept rough herself – predicted that the only result would be fruitless administration and wasted court time.
The Cabinet members listened and changed course. There remain, however, strong objections from residents to scruffy vehicles cluttering our attractive town: who wants to come to a tourist destination where people are forced to live on the streets?
In many parts of America there are RV (Recreational Vehicle) parks, where those living in vans can access showers and laundry services, empty toilets, recharge batteries and top up water. Is it time for such a facility in Hastings?
Cllr Tony Collins is a Green councillor for Central St Leonards. He can be reached on [email protected].
A View from the Street
I am in my 50s, own a small seafront flat in Hastings and a van. Other than a smattering of unreliable freelance work, my main source of income is the rent I get from letting the flat as an Airbnb – usually at weekends – in which case I have to sleep somewhere else. I have friends who will give me a bed, but in summer when it’s reasonably warm, I often sleep in the van.
My favourite parking place for this purpose used to be Cooden Beach on the edge of the shingle. There were no residences nearby, and I felt a sense of freedom – not being legislated for. Other people, mostly single blokes (very often the consequence of failed relationships), used to sleep in vehicles there too.
There are no public toilets there, but there was one at the railway station round the corner, or I would use the Cooden Beach Hotel (they also usefully had wi-fi). I was careful not to leave any litter and don’t think I was a nuisance to anyone.
But in 2023 Rother District Council put up signs in the car park prohibiting overnight sleeping and threatening fines if this prohibition was disobeyed. Since then, I have on occasion slept overnight in my parked van around West Marina Gardens or St Leonards Gardens.
It would be a lot easier if there were designated areas where people in my situation could park and sleep. I understand there is a concern that, if many sleepers congregate in a particular place, there could be an issue with noise, litter and anti-social behaviour. It is a risk, but in my experience the vast majority of van dwellers are very respectful. Singly, I don’t create any public nuisance, and I certainly don’t think the innocuous act of sleeping in a vehicle should be made a crime.
The writer is a Hastings resident who prefers not to be identified.
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