Buckinghamshire Council has warned of a rise in people living in cars, vans and other vehicles across the county.
The authority says it is dealing with growing numbers of individuals and families who are not part of the Travelling community but have turned to vehicles as their form of shelter.
The rise comes against the backdrop of a national cost-of-living crisis, which housing campaigners warn is forcing more people into unconventional and insecure living arrangements.
Mark Winn, cabinet member for housing and regulator services, said: “We are, however, seeing increasing numbers of ‘non-Travellers’ living in vehicles, and we have dealt with more of these this year than Gypsy/Traveller encampments.”
The authority says they are taking a ‘multi-agency approach’, linking up with support services to offer help, while also making sure welfare concerns are treated sensitively.
He added: “We are again seeing low numbers of unauthorised encampments in line with the previous four years across Buckinghamshire.
“The commitment of our enforcement team to deal with encampments expediently is a testament to their hard work and dedication in achieving these outcomes in what can only be described at times as very demanding situations.
“There remains a high level of Travelling people across the country to date, our robust but fair approach to encampments has ensured that damage, disruption, and distress has been kept to a minimum for residents and landowners across the county.”
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