Delivering safer, greener and quieter neighbourhoods was a feature of the Mayor’s manifesto in 2021 and remains a key focus for this administration. Over the past year we have been working with the local community and stakeholders in east Bristol on making this pledge a reality by exploring the introduction of our first Liveable Neighbourhoods project in Barton Hill and parts of Redfield and St George.
Through Liveable Neighbourhoods, we are aiming to:
- reduce the amount of traffic on residential streets
- improve walking and cycling infrastructure
- improve the air we breathe
- boost public transport and active travel, including walking, cycling and wheeling
This is a pilot scheme that will set the blueprint for how Liveable Neighbourhoods could be introduced across the city in the future, including in BS3.
Having worked with community members on two stages of engagement, we are putting together plans for how a series of measures can be trialled on the ground.
Community engagement so far
Community feedback, gathered during two rounds of public engagement, sits at the heart of the plans we’ve developed.
We asked people who live or work in, or travel through or visit Barton Hill, Redfield, and St George for their views. This helped us to understand what the areas are like now, what is good and not so good about them, and how we could make them better.
Following a big response – where many people said that they love living in this part of east Bristol but some worry about road safety, air pollution, and want more places to connect as a community – we ran a second engagement exercise.
This involved presenting a range of measures, such as pocket parks, street lighting, cycle lanes and new road layouts, in a design toolkit that could be used to address some of these concerns.
By hosting workshops and online interactive maps, people plotted where they would like to see these measures introduced on streets across the pilot area. The results are available in the engagement report.
Plans to trial some of the measures
Our plans for the trial bring together a mix of these solutions so the concept of the Liveable Neighbourhood and changes on local streets can be tested before designing a permanent scheme.
Interventions for main roads, such as pedestrian crossings, junctions, and continuous footways, cannot be trialled as they are permanent solutions. This does not mean they will not be included in the final scheme, which we’ll design based on the trial and further community engagement.
What’s next?
The city’s Cabinet will meet on 4 April to review and decide whether to accept proposals for the trial scheme, further engagement on a permanent scheme, and the development of a full business case. If approved, we would then work with the West of England Combined Authority to identify the £1.34 million needed to fund this next stage.
Overall, the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood pilot, including both the trial and permanent scheme, is projected to cost in the region of £5.8 million, which is a huge investment into east Bristol.
The costs will be met by the West of England Combined Authority using funding set aside for Liveable Neighbourhoods from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. This is being supported by over £290,000 of EU Horizon funding.
In May and June we’ll be going back out to the community to host workshops and walkabouts to show how the trial scheme could work, before formally consulting on the proposed changes in the summer.
Over the trial we will continue to talk to the community to help shape the permanent scheme.
Walking and cycling
A big part of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood project is about encouraging more local people to gain all the benefits of active travel.
That’s why we’ve created a handy online section with plenty of information, activities and events to get more people walking and cycling locally.
From active travel roadshows, where we can tell you about a range of offers including bike loans and training, to lots of group walks and self-guided walks taking place in east Bristol, there’s lots of information to get out and about this spring.
Keep up to date
To keep up to date with the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood pilot, go to www.bristol.gov.uk/eastbristolliveableneighbourhood where you can also sign up for our newsletter.