There is ‘overwhelming support for this measure’
Matchday parking on the streets around Ashton Gate and, inset, Karin Smyth MP for Bristol South(Image: Bristol Post)
The MP for South Bristol has called on the city council’s transport chiefs to begin a matchday parking system for the streets around Ashton Gate ‘without delay’ after a council survey found residents in the area overwhelmingly wanted it.
In a letter to the chair of the council’s transport committee Cllr Ed Plowden, Bristol South MP Karin Smyth also called for the council to ‘rule out’ the use of modal filters – blocks across residential roads that stop vehicles but allow bikes, scooters and pedestrians – in Southville.
Ms Smyth was responding to the council publishing the results of the consultation into plans for a South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood earlier this month.
The results from thousands of people who took part showed only around a quarter of Southville residents supported the idea of modal filters to create distinct traffic zones across Southville, but across Ashton, Ashton Gate and Bedminster, there was strong support for matchday parking to restrict the on-street parking of people attending events at Ashton Gate Stadium.
The transport committee meets on Thursday this week to discuss the results of the consultation, and are expected to send officers back to come up with new plans for the SBLN project. Karin Smyth urged the council to act on the issues people want action over – particularly match day parking.
The football season is now over, and Bristol Bears have one final Friday evening match remaining – a crunch game against Bath at the end of May – so after that the council has until the middle of August before the issue begins again for residents.
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Ms Smyth urged the council to act quickly. “Given the overwhelming support for this measure in Ashton, will you commit to implementing matchday parking for Ashton Gate without delay?” she asked Cllr Plowden.
Although Cllr Plowden said they would redraw their plans and the area wouldn’t be zoned off like that, he did say there would still be modal filters installed on some roads.
Ms Smyth asked Cllr Plowden to rule out any modal filters being installed on any roads in Southville. “Perhaps unsurprisingly, over 70 per cent of Southville residents who responded went on to express opposition to the measures proposed by the council for their area where modal filters were a key component. Of those, 59 per cent felt strongly,” she wrote.
An image of May 2025 plans for the South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, specifically in Southville. After consultation in May 2026, Bristol City Council said they would drop plans to create four distinct traffic zones using modal filters, but there would still be some modal filters on roads in the area(Image: Bristol Post)
“Given the strong opposition in Southville to both the council’s specific proposals and to the use of modal filters more generally, will the council at last listen to residents and rule out plans for modal filters in Southville?” she asked.
When the consultation results were announced, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council did say: “The council is developing proposals for new Residents’ Parking Schemes in Windmill Hill, Totterdown, Ashton Gate, and The Chessels with Parson Street.
“Based on responses to the consultation, schemes will not be taken forward in Totterdown East, Perretts Park or Malago Vale, however, a Matchday Parking Scheme is being proposed for Ashton Vale,” he added.
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“Detailed proposals for each area will be published, with public consultations taking place over the summer and autumn, before any final decisions are made.”
Cllr Plowden said at the time: “We’ll share these updated plans in the coming months, ahead of the Transport and Connectivity Committee making a decision in the autumn on whether to take the whole scheme forward and further chances to have your say on the proposals.”