“It feels like we’re living in an open prison”<\/p>\n
A resident living inside the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood has shared a video of an incident in which police responding to an emergency call discovered the road from Redfield into Barton Hill had been blocked by planters, and had to make a U-turn and find a different way into the area.<\/p>\n
The video was taken late on Friday afternoon, July 4, at just after 5.30pm, from a home-mounted CCTV camera near the junction of Cobden Street, Morley Street and Victoria Avenue, a previously busy crossroads that connected Redfield and the A420 with Barton Hill at the Wellspring Settlement.<\/p>\n
The video shows the driver of a police car with sirens and lights activated, coming from the A420 and turning right onto Morley Street to attempt to get into Barton Hill. But last week a \u2018pocket park\u2019 was installed outside the Wellspring Settlement to reinforce the \u2018modal filters\u2019 which don\u2019t allow vehicles to use the junction of Ducie Road, Barton Hill Road and Morley Street.<\/p>\n
The driver of the police car can be seen reaching the end of Morley Street and turning round before returning back down Cobden Street and back onto the A420 to find another way to reach the area of Barton Hill where the emergency was.<\/p>\n
The video was captured by Bob Fox, who has lived in Redfield for more than 45 years and said the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood has made it \u2018feel like we\u2019re living in an open prison\u2019.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said it wasn\u2019t possible to say what the emergency the police officers in the car were trying to attend.<\/p>\n
And as for the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood itself, a force spokesperson said: \u201cThis is a local authority decision to implement. We will always work around any road restrictions or diversions in place and use the most direct route to an emergency, as is the nature of advance driver training our officers complete in order to drive on Code 1 response.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_TCBR100725PoliceCarBRIJPG.jpg\")
A still image from a CCTV video of the driver of a police car entering Morley Street in Barton Hill before the driver finds the road at the Wellspring Settlement blocked by the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme installation(Image: Bob Fox)![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_TCBR100725PoliceCarBRI_02JPG.jpg\")
A still image from a CCTV video of the driver of a police car exiting Morley Street in Barton Hill as the driver finds the road at the Wellspring Settlement blocked by the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme installation(Image: Bob Fox)<\/p>\n
This week, after Mr Fox\u2019s camera filmed the police officers attempts to reach Barton Hill, an South West Ambulance Service driver was filmed trying and failing to drive past the Wellspring Settlement on Morley Street.<\/p>\n
In an incident that happened on the evening of Wednesday evening, July 9, an ambulance driver had to reverse back up Morley Street.<\/p>\n
It is not the first time emergency service vehicles have struggled with the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood. One of the first roads to be blocked to vehicles was Ducie Road, and Bristol Live reported<\/a> in April that an Avon Fire and Rescue<\/a> Service crew found themselves blocked by a bollard in the road<\/a> that Bristol City Council<\/a> said emergency services had been given the key for.<\/p>\n The Ducie Road triangle outside the Wellspring Settlement is now a \u2018pocket park\u2019 with \u2018modal filters\u2019 that allow pedestrians, bikes and scooters through, but not vehicles.<\/p>\n Residents in East Bristol who are against the EBLN have continued sharing images and videos of issues, including one video that showed an apparent stand off between two buses on Avonvale Road, with the road too narrow for both buses on the new route through the EBLN bus gate to pass each other.<\/p>\n The six month trial of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood continues, with the city council scheduled to now begin sending out fines instead of warning letters to drivers who breach the bus gates on Avonvale Road and Marsh Lane. Many in Barton Hill and Redfield are opposed to the trial, while many others are in favour.<\/p>\n Join Bristol Live\u2019s WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Fire](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_TCBR090425FireBRI.jpg\")
Fire crews try to drop a recently-installed bollard at a new modal filter on Ducie Road in Barton Hill, days after the installation of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood there(Image: Samira Musse)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744476931_129_0_WhatsApp-Phone.jpg\")
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