Brighton residents present petition about caravans in Carden hill

The vehicles, in Carden Hill, Hollingbury, also prompted Conservative councillor Anne Meadows to raise the issue at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting in December.

One resident, Debbie Davis, started the petition on the Change.org website last Friday (February 6). It had more than 80 signatures at the time of writing.

Mrs Davis said the community was concerned about the vans, particularly those close to the junction because some of them overlooked Carden Primary School and the Nautical Training Corps (NTC) site TS Zealous.

She said: “There is also a growing concern over the matter of human waste being found in and around the park area.

“As one concerned resident commented, unless someone has trained their dog to use toilet paper – it is human waste.

“This obviously brings sanitation issues into the concerns, especially with the number of people using the park at weekends.”

A generator is running at all times by one of the vans, residents said.

They have met the ward councillors for Patcham and Hollingbury ward – Cllr Meadows and fellow Conservative councillor Alistair McNair – after a court order to move one of the vans was issued on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

As well as the petition, the community is planning for a deputation to a meeting of the full council on Thursday, March 26.

Cllr Meadows said she was as unhappy as residents about the situation, particularly around safeguarding.

She was told the council could not store caravans after towing them away and removing an occupied caravan would make people homeless, creating added costs and social problems.

She said: “We are dealing with unhappy residents and concerned adults who have safeguarding responsibilities (TS Zealous) for their charges when in residence at the scout hut.

“I don’t believe this is acceptable and the residents are now taking action themselves through the deputation and petition.

“I believe that officers thought we were doing this on our own and didn’t realise, no, we actually listen to our residents.”

Labour councillor Paul Nann, the council’s cabinet adviser for homelessness, said he appreciated that some residents were frustrated by the situation but the process took time.

Councillor Nann said: “We start by carrying out a welfare visit to people in new vehicles, encouraging them to move and discussing more suitable locations or accommodation.

“If people do not, we follow this up with a court summons. Once the matter has gone through the courts – a process which can take time – the residents are formally served with a court order.

“Throughout this process, our team continues to engage with the van owners and arrange a leaving date.”