Applying for money for a bench can take a year
Some parts of the city could do with more bins, like in Victoria Park(Image: Jon Kent/Bristol Live)
Local areas have little or no say on getting new bins or zebra crossings as a plan to spread power out from City Hall falters.
When Bristol City Council switched to a committee model, this was meant to include giving neighbourhoods more powers on issues affecting their areas.
But applying for money to put in a bin or a bench takes a year, and even then can be scuppered by concerns over antisocial behaviour. And the nine area committees, covering neighbourhoods across Bristol, have been told they cannot apply for any transport projects this year at all.
The area committees were supposed to be beefed up, giving locals powers to make decisions about their own communities. However, there have been problems with how they have been running over the past year, which were discussed by the committee model review group on Thursday, May 29.
A huge backlog of transport projects, suggested by local communities, have not yet been delivered.
Because of this, no more projects can be put forward this year, so that the council’s transport department can have a chance to catch up with some of the suggested schemes. But the decision to have a fallow year was not made in public, sparking concerns over transparency.
Nine area committees cover different parts of Bristol(Image: Bristol City Council)
Conservative Councillor Richard Eddy said: “Officers sought the views and then facilitated a vote of area committee chairs, and the decision was made to have a fallow year. We’ve been consulted by transport about historic schemes which are still in their pipeline, about whether members wish to actually take these forward — so work is being done to clear the backlog.
“In my view we’re in danger of getting hung up about one issue. It goes to the credibility of the system. We’re undermining the credibility of the area committees in the eyes of our constituents, if we say ‘you have a chance to nominate [a transport scheme]’. We have a huge backlog of schemes that have not been addressed.”
Some, but not all, of the nine councillors who chair area committees voted to have a fallow year. It’s not clear when the vote took place, as it didn’t happen in a public meeting, nor which chairs took part in the vote. The result of the decision is communities cannot suggest transport schemes this year, like installing a new zebra crossing, for example.
Green Cllr Guy Poultney, chair of the review group, said: “This was not a politically proportionate meeting, there are no agendas, and there are no minutes taken. A decision was made for that fallow year by that group. The decision to not allow area committees to spend [community infrastructure levy] money on local transport schemes this year was taken at that meeting.
“As a member of area committee four, I haven’t been able to put forward transport schemes this year. We were told you cannot do this, they will not be considered.”
Bristol Live understands that the new powers for area committees have faced internal opposition from some senior council staff members. As part of the switch from a directly elected mayor to the committee model, councillors wanted to give these neighbourhood groups much more of a say on local issues.
But after the governance switch, some senior council officers have been reluctant to follow through on giving them more of a say. As well as local transport schemes, the parks department appears particularly unwilling to give area committees more powers.
The area committees were supposed to meet in their local neighbourhoods, recognising that City Hall is difficult to get to from many parts of Bristol, as well as the symbolic factor of spreading power out of City Hall. However the area committees have all been meeting in City Hall, and have been sparsely attended by members of the public so far.
One question that has come up is suggestions for where roads should get new 20mph speed limits. The committees have been tasked with writing up a list of roads where 20mph limits should be considered.
But with other transport projects, staff in the department have been focusing on huge schemes, like turning the Bedminster Bridges roundabout into a traffic-light controlled junction, instead of smaller ones suggested by local communities.
Elsewhere, applying for relatively simple things, like a new bin or a bench, is still onerous and can take many months. These would be paid with money from property developers, called the “community infrastructure levy”. But bids to spend this pot of money can only be made annually.
Cllr Poultney said: “If I want to get a new bin put in my ward, for example, the community infrastructure levy fund is the only way I can do that. Equally, there are two really nasty spots where I’ve got dangerous roads, and I would like to start the process of putting some sort of traffic-calming measures there.
“To get my bin in, that would take a year to make that decision. Because of the fallow year on transport, to get my crossing looked at will take two years, if I’m lucky. I feel a year is too long simply to make a decision on whether we can put a bin in or not. Two years is far too long to make a decision on whether we can take action on a dangerous road or not.
“The area committees were an absolutely key part of the committee model. I worry about how little has actually happened.”
One example is a bench on West Street in Bedminster, suggested by community group Way Out West. The bench would cost £1,200 and would provide a resting place for elderly residents of the nearby Monica Wills House care home as they walk back and forth to the local shops.
In papers for area committee seven, which covers Bedminster, the group was told the benches would need approval from the council’s highways department. If the approval is granted, local residents would also need to be consulted before a bench could be installed, because “benches can attract antisocial behaviour”.
The lengthy process predates the switch to the committee model. But the switch was supposed to give more powers to local neighbourhoods on these sorts of issues, and that hasn’t happened. Green Cllr Ani Stafford-Townsend added: “We funded a zebra crossing on Jacob’s Wells Road 10 years ago in 2015. I think it was delivered last year.”