Birmingham City Council is trialling a new approach to unauthorised encampments, after existing transit sites became unusable. A “negotiated stopping” scheme could see short-term use of unused land by travelling families—but the plan has already been delayed.
00:00Caravans parked across Birmingham's parks aren't just an eyesore or an inconvenience, they're a symptom.
00:08A symptom of a system that's crumbled quietly, then loudly and now visibly.
00:13The city's meant to have two functioning transit sites for the travelling community.
00:18Secure plots with hard standing, sanitation and somewhere legal to go.
00:23One's been occupied long term, the other vandalised so many times it might as well be abandoned.
00:29So when new encampments appear, there's nowhere to move people onto and the city's hands are tied by its own neglect.
00:37The fallout, more unauthorised camps in public spaces, more damage to get onto the land, more delays in moving people off and rising costs to clean up the mess.
00:47Over 500 encampments have been logged in just five years, mostly on public land that residents expect to be available, clean and safe.
00:56No one's benefiting, not the travellers who face hostility, not the residents who feel ignored and not the council, now throwing another strategy at a long standing failure.
01:07It's called Negotiated Stopping, a 12 month pilot where small pieces of unused land are set aside for short stays.
01:15Basic facilities are provided, council officers are stationed on site, it's meant to reduce friction and build trust.
01:22But it hasn't started, no sites have been confirmed and consultation has slipped to light this year.
01:29So for now the same old pattern continues, conflict without a plan.
01:33The council says it wants to reset the relationship until someone owns the failure.
01:38The cycle will carry on right through the city's playgrounds and green spices.
01:43The cycle will carry on right through theggiating fireside ball to arrive and there will be rains.
01:50At the same time it will even go right through mirrors.
01:59Ding quiets inside lives, andullen creates a huge muscular style into yourosaity.
