A Glastonbury councillor has called on Somerset Council to act more urgently over the number of people living in vans, caravans and motorhomes on roadsides in the town.

Speaking at Somerset Council's communities scrutiny committee in Taunton on Thursday, 26 March, Conservative councillor Susannah Hart said the scale of the issue now required an emergency-level response.

As of 25 February, the latest figures cited in the discussion, 131 people were living in vehicles on roadsides in Glastonbury. Somerset Council said a significant number had complex needs, including mental health issues, long-term health conditions or substance dependency.

The authority has been working to secure a site for the town's "non-bricks and mortar" community, with funding set aside through the £23.6 million Glastonbury Town Deal.

Cllr Hart said the council was not moving quickly enough, but also made clear the issue was not simply about enforcement.

She said: "I do feel now that we're in a situation where actually we need to call this what it is – a state of emergency with relation to the lack of availability of a travellers' site.

"We as a council are quite happy to declare emergencies around other issues – this now is an emergency."

Her comments came during a wider discussion about Gypsy and Traveller provision, although part of the debate focused specifically on people living in vehicles in and around Glastonbury. Councillors indicated those issues can overlap, but are not necessarily the same in every case.

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Cllr Hart said Glastonbury Town Council would be willing to consider whether land in its ownership could be used as a temporary or "meanwhile" site, if appropriate utilities and support were in place.

She added: "I don't think anyone around this table doesn't care about people's health and well-being. From what I see, the struggles that these people are facing are huge."

Somerset Council currently has three dedicated Traveller sites managed by Elim Housing: Chubbards Cross in Ilton, Marsh Lane in Tintinhull and a smaller site in Pitney.

The Glastonbury Town Deal includes provision for an off-road accommodation site in or around the town, intended to provide a safer location for people living in vehicles and help unlock wider work in the Beckery area, including the regeneration of Baily's Buildings.

Plans put forward in mid-2023 for a site north of Porchestall Drove, with 21 temporary transit pitches and 19 permanent pitches, were later withdrawn over flooding concerns.

The council then bought a different site in summer 2024, though its location has not been made public, and a new planning application is expected later in the year.

A separate feasibility study is also looking at designated vehicle-dweller sites alongside Gypsy, Roma and Traveller transit provision, reflecting concerns raised in the meeting that one type of site may not meet everyone's needs.

Independent councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey welcomed that work and said it was important not to lose sight of the people behind the debate.

She said: "We have to remember that these are human beings – they need somewhere to put the van in which they live.

"Anything we can do to move this forward and stop them being a pariah is welcome."

Liberal Democrat councillor Marcus Kravis also said any future site would need to be carefully chosen.

He said: "Some vehicle dwellers and people living on the side of the road may not want to live in a 'meanwhile site'."

Independent councillor Gwilym Wren added that the issue had been developing for years and would not be solved easily.

One point remains unclear from the figures cited during the meeting, with both 131 and 138 referenced for the number of people living roadside in Glastonbury. Somerset Council has not, in this account, reconciled that difference.

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Original reporting: LDRS/Daniel Mumby