Council boss ‘regrets’ how low traffic neighbourhood was rolled out

It sparked protest and controversyPete Gavan Senior Editor and SWNSFilipaGaspar (Filipa Gaspar)

14:00, 14 May 2025

Campaigners fighting the EBLN

A council boss says he ‘regrets’ how the rollout of a suburb’s liveable neighbourhood has been handled.

Leader of Bristol City Council Tony Dyer said he thinks “there are definitely lessons to be learned” about the process.

This comes after angry residents were seen protesting after council contractors tried to complete the controversial scheme in Barton Hill at 3am.

A six-month trial of the scheme is now under way and involves a variety of measures intended to calm traffic – including bus gates and cycle lanes.

A sign for the controversial LTN

The improvements in a liveable neighbourhood, according to the council, aim to make it easier to catch a bus and to walk or cycle, with less through traffic.

But campaigners state that the scheme has ‘gridlocked the area, creating unsafe roads and increased pollution’.

Speaking on Politics West, council leader Tony Dyer said: “Do I personally regret? Yes, I do. You never like to be in the situation where you are coming into conflict with people.

Council leader Tony Dyer(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

“You often have valid concerns. However, I don’t think that we are ever going to please everybody with everything we do.”

Dyer said that the new Green-led administration should have looked more closely at whether “everyone who needed to be involved had been involved”.

“You never like to be in a situation where you are coming into conflict with people who often have valid concerns, and you want to try to find a way to address those.

“Liveable neighbourhoods are a controversial topic. Some people are very much supportive, other people are very much anti.”

Part of the EBLN

In response to Dyer, Barton Hill resident Melissa Topping tweeted: “Great, admitting it is one thing, now get rid of it please!

“East Bristol deserves better than to be left with a mistake. We are not here to be lessons learnt. These are our lives and livelihoods you’re putting at stake!”

Previously Melissa claimed that the new liveable neighbourhood infrastructure means that larger emergency service vehicles, or any trader with a larger van, cannot access several roads across Barton Hill, Redfield and St George.

The resident who lives with a disability said her independence has been taken away.

Since 2010, she has been using a wheelchair and mobility scooter to access areas that she cannot on foot.

A new bus gate on Avonvale Road, Bris., now limits Melissa’s access to her own home on Victoria Avenue.

The account of the Bristol Somali Community Association tweeted that “regret isn’t enough for the residents of Barton Hill”.

“The leader of @BristolCouncil knew the problem. We explained to him as soon as he became the leader of the city.

“Like (the) previous leader, he’s pushing this scheme against the will of the residents.”