Labour<\/a> mayor Helen Godwin to approve \u00a36.4 million funding. Councillors first heard from members of the public, both in favour and against the scheme.<\/p>\nHaydn Gill, a supporter, said: \u201cThe more we rely on cars without viable alternatives to driving, the more oil is bought and burned and makes the billionaires and dictators richer.<\/p>\n
“That profit is then spent on delaying climate action and delaying viable alternatives to driving. This might be a small scheme, but east Bristol is fighting back against the billionaire class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local residents in favour of the liveable neighbourhood also praised how their streets were quieter, after previously being plagued by dangerous driving and frequent near misses.<\/p>\n
More people are walking and cycling and parents feel the area is safe enough now for their children to walk or ride a bike to school. On the other hand, people who rely on driving cars have suffered.<\/p>\n
Sue Hughes, an opponent, said: \u201cFor residents with chronic pain and severe mobility impairments, a car is an essential medical aid, not a luxury. Road closures drastically increase journey times, causing huge exhaustion and limited independence. The layout has introduced safety hazards. Tight cul-de-sacs force taxis and delivery vehicles into dangerous manoeuvres.\u201d<\/p>\n
The East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood aims to encourage more people to walk, cycle or get the bus instead of driving. Several planters, bollards and bus gates were installed across Barton Hill, Redfield and St George. The trial forms part of a wider push to get fewer people driving cars. However this has been described by opponents as \u201call stick and no carrot\u201d.<\/p>\n
While new bus services run through the area, these are sporadic. And disabled residents in particular rely much more on driving, compared to able-bodied people for whom walking or cycling is a more realistic option. And on the edge of the scheme, there has been a rise in traffic on Crews Hole Road and Troopers Hill Road, as drivers find an alternative route to use.<\/p>\n
As part of making the scheme permanent, the council is planning several upgrades. These include installing dropped kerbs, making access easier for people in wheelchairs or with pushchairs. The busy junction of Blackswarth Road, Church Road and Chalks Road will see improvements too, to prevent drivers turning right from blocking the junction causing queues.<\/p>\n
Greens pledged to look at new exemptions for bus gates, so more people can drive through them without getting a fine. Mitigations will be made to Crews Hole Road and Troopers Hill Road, although it\u2019s unclear so far what these are. And the unpopular bus gate on Pile Marsh will also be monitored, although Labour called for immediate changes to be made.<\/p>\n
The four Greens on the committee voted in favour of making the scheme permanent, along with Liberal Democrat Councillor Nicholas Coombes. Three Labour councillors and the one Conservative councillor voted against the scheme, which they said was too polarising and was \u201ctearing the community apart\u201d. However they welcomed the promised changes to the scheme.<\/p>\n
Green Cllr Emma Edwards said: \u201cThere is less traffic on residential streets within the area. More people are walking, wheeling and cycling and taking the bus. This is what the data is telling us. And this is a public health intervention as much as a transport one. But this has been tricky and not everybody has been feeling the benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done a huge amount of engagement with the community, lots of door knocking, speaking to councillors who have held surgeries. Based on that feedback, we have already made changes. The trial\u2019s purpose, to learn and adapt, that has happened. That engagement cannot stop. Continuing that feedback is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the vote, what happens next is still unclear. The West of England commissioned an independent review into the liveable neighbourhood, and the results are expected imminently<\/p>\n
This will influence whether the mayor will release the funding to the council. She previously blocked the council\u2019s plans to close Park Street to through-traffic, and could do so again here.<\/p>\n
Campaigners have also threatened legal action against the council, but were waiting for this decision to be made. They believe that the council is discriminating against disabled people, which leading councillors have previously denied. But they might need to raise significant legal costs from the community, before this can go ahead.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the meeting, Helen Godwin, the mayor of the West of England, said: \u201cIt’s clear that lessons are being learned and the latest proposals for an amended scheme seem to be another step in the right direction, following a measured intervention from local MP Kerry McCarthy.<\/p>\n
“Late last year, the combined authority commissioned a fully independent review of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial \u2013 with all the available data, including local people’s feedback. I understand that the panel’s report is set to be published in the coming weeks, and hope that it proves useful reading when we consider the council’s bid for further regional funding.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But there are two obstacles still standing in its way yet 20:25, 09 Jul 2026Updated 20:38, 09 Jul…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":936790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,3893,748,4230,393,4884,528,11518,285,10298,16,15],"class_list":["post-1079199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bristol","tag-bristol","tag-bristol-city-council","tag-britain","tag-cycling","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-labour-party","tag-liberal-democrats","tag-politics","tag-st-george","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/936790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_Planters-at-the-end-of-Beaufort-Road-as-part-of-the-East-Bristol-Liveable-Neighbourhood.jpg\")
<\/p>\n