A log perimeter installed at a Bristol park has been criticised as a "shameful" attempt to shut out travellers.
Large tree trunks now surround Horfield Common in a bid to "prevent all unauthorised vehicle access" to the grass, two years after the works were approved by one of Bristol City Council's area committees.
Not everyone has welcomed the prominent new additions to the green space, with a national charity among those to criticise the "miserable" impact on members of the travelling community.
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The city council said the works, which also include new benches and bollards, were initiated by a former ward councillor and were not decided on by the mayor or cabinet.
Unlawful traveller encampments have set up at the Common many times over the years, including in April this year, when the council issued trespass notices and began proceedings for a possession order.
Twitter user @sellottie noticed the logs over the weekend and said she was "absolutely disgusted" by the sight.
She tweeted: "Blatant, nasty attempt to prevent travellers/people in vans from having somewhere perfectly inoffensive to stay. And the whole common made less accessible to all (and churned into muddy trenches) as a result.
"Shame."
The woman, who preferred not to be named, told Bristol Live: "Logically it must be an attempt to block travellers - there are often travellers on the common and the logs appeared very shortly after a recent encampment moved on.
"The common belongs to the council but is common/public land, and in my experience the travellers really don’t take up much space."
City councillor Philippa Hulme, who represents the Horfield ward, said in a post on her Facebook page last month that the logs would be "placed around the common to prevent vehicle access and protect the green space".
Several respondents expressed support for the barriers, with some saying it was "about time" to prevent people from driving caravans and vehicles on to the grass.
However, others felt the move was unnecessary, expressing support for the travelling community.
Friends, Families and Travellers, an organisation that represents the travelling community, has also spoken out about the measures.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "Putting up barriers to prevent people from residing in a park is much like the anti-homeless benches popping up around the country – they are a waste of resource, make peoples’ lives more miserable and don’t actually do anything to solve the fundamental issue.
"There is no point in telling people where they can’t go if you’re not telling them where they can go.
"There is a huge national shortage of places for Gypsies and Travellers to stop. If councils spent the same amount of time and effort making sure there were legal and safe places for Travellers to stop in their area, rather than making Travellers’ lives miserable, the world would be a much better place."
According to the city council's own list, there are two traveller sites in Bristol with 32 pitches between them.
One site is in Ashton Vale with 12 permanent pitches, and the other is a transit site in Lawrence Weston, which has 20 pitches allowing stays of up to three months at a time.
There is also "one ethnic Showpeople site" with 12 plots in Bedminster, the authority advises.
A city council spokesperson said: "The logs placed around the perimeter of a section of Horfield Common is part of work to prevent all unauthorised vehicle access.
"This work, which also includes the introduction of benches and bollards, was approved by the local area committee in November 2019.
"The works were initiated by a former ward councillor and delivered by officers using Community Infrastructure Levy funds. Area committee decisions are not taken or approved by the mayor or cabinet."
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