Council bosses hope that opposition to a liveable neighbourhood scheme in east Bristol “will filter away” as benefits emerge. They pointed to other schemes in London which were controversial at first before later being accepted, and the roll-out of resident parking zones.
The East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial aims to reduce traffic through residential roads in St George, Redfield and Barton Hill with bollards, planters and bus gates. Its installation has been partly blocked by protesters, and the plans are deeply unpopular among some locals.
But other people living in the area support the scheme, and have welcomed the measures already installed, such as along Beaufort Road. Green Councillor Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, said people were naturally “suspicious of change”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Dyer said: “Where people are going to face inconveniences, and we can do something about it, then we’ll try. There are a lot of people who are very supportive of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, including at one point the previous administration.
“It’s been demonstrated elsewhere, like Waltham Forest for instance, that there was opposition at the beginning but once the scheme was put in place, that opposition filtered away. We’ve seen that before in Bristol.
“When residents’ parking schemes were being installed, we had somebody driving a tank through Clifton. Labour campaigned on getting rid of the residents’ parking schemes and then when they got elected, they actually found out the people were quite happy with them and didn’t want them removed.”
Protests against the resident parking zones hit a peak in 2014 when a Second World War tank was driven from Clifton to City Hall, culminating in a clash with Free Palestine protesters who were also staging a separate demonstration at the bottom of Park Street. Since their roll-out, neighbourhoods across the city with unregulated parking have asked for new zones to be made.
Cllr Barry Parsons, chair of the housing policy committee, represents the ward of Easton which includes Redfield, part of the liveable neighbourhood area. He admitted speaking to many locals who don’t believe the trial will be temporary, but fear any changes will become permanent.
He said: “I heard a stat somewhere that most people who live inside a liveable neighbourhood don’t know it. It’s a trial and we haven’t yet fully installed it. Once we do, that’ll give us a chance to gather the information that we need to, to see how it’s working in practice and on the ground.
“It’s very easy for people to get anxious and worry about the impact they foresee it’s going to have. But none of us have a crystal ball, so the only way we’re going to be able to get the evidence that we need is by actually installing it, giving it some time to bed in, and then making changes that we might need based on that experience.”
Recently the council promised vouchers to people living within the trial area on a low income, including £250 of First Bus tickets and a £150 voucher to buy a refurbished bicycle. A 12-month exemption will also be given to the trial’s bus gates, if they need to drive for work.
The liveable neighbourhood was compared by the council leader to the influx of students to Bedminster, which sparked similar controversy as hundreds of student flats are being built. Last September, the first new students arrived in the area, bringing extra custom to local businesses.
Cllr Parsons said: “Personally I think that it’s very likely that once it’s installed, it will be very difficult to take it out, because once people see the benefits of these kinds of schemes then by and large they want to keep them.”
Cllr Dyer added: “The vast majority of people are always a little bit suspicious of change. You’ve got used to living in an area, and then when somebody comes in with a development or a change to the road layout, people naturally become a little bit concerned about how it’s going to affect them. Sometimes it’s only until months later that you start to see the benefits.
“I remember one particular shop complaining about students coming into Bedminster Green. I went down to the shop recently, since the students have started coming in, and he said ‘oh it’s brilliant, they all come into my shop and my takings are up’. He was worried that it was going to stop people coming into East Street, in fact what’s happened has created a new community.”
The trial has still not been fully installed. Protesters have blocked the installation of bus gates in Barton Hill, creating an obstacle which council bosses are still struggling to overcome. Meanwhile, next month a bus service will launch, paid for by the Clean Air Zone. The number 16 will run from Fishponds, through St George, Barton Hill and Temple Meads to the city centre.
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