11/12/2024
EBLN NEWS
Yesterday, residents both in opposition and in support of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme attended the full Council meeting at the Council House/City Hall, as part of the presenting of a petition that calls upon Bristol City Council to halt the scheme, having passed the threshold number of signatories for the petition to be debated at full council.
The petition can be found here and as of the time of this post being published, stands at 5,169 signatures:
https://www.change.org/p/halt-the-east-bristol-liveable-neighbourhood-scheme?recruiter=965863702&recruited_by_id=5825c670-7f2c-11e9-9c7e-0fa0e0e973c4&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink
Various media organisations including private citizen journalists, the BBC, ITV, Bristol Post, radio interviewers and others were also in attendance to interview residents and to cover the full council meeting.
108 public statements were submitted with regards to the EBLN, voicing support and voicing concerns, for the implementation of the scheme.
Security checks and entry to the public lobby for the meeting was tightened on the day, with Councillor Rob Bryher declaring within the meeting that a number of St. George residents were not allowed to gain entry to the public lobby, and requested for them to be let in. This call was rejected however by Councillor Andrew Varney on security grounds.
Not to focus entirely on the EBLN however, pro-Palestine protesters were also present who called upon Bristol City Council to intervene in the investments that Avon Pension Fund presently has with companies that trade in arms to Israel, representatives from Save Brislington Meadows called upon the Council to not build upon the Meadows, and residents within the Clifton area called upon the Council to do more to move on the caravan and van dwellers who are parked on and around The Downs. So indeed a number of strong public matters that justified an increase in security and tightened public access.
Back to the EBLN…
Redfield resident Melissa Topping who presented the petition, made an impassioned appeal - at times holding back tears - to the Council chamber, calling on the full roll-out of the scheme to be halted, who as a disabled resident shared that the vehicular access that she requires to travel to and thro medical appointments and other personal engagements will become nearly impossible once the full traffic restrictions have gone into place across the Redfield and Barton Hill neighbourhoods, where the scheme has yet to be fully installed.
Prepared responses were then delivered by the heads of the four political parties within Bristol City Council.
Responses to the petition from the Greens, Labour and Lib Dems all similarly threw their support behind the implementation of the EBLN on the grounds of the “climate emergency”, improving walking and cycling, reducing car travel from residents, and even so that BCC would be able to “access funding pots from Central Government” again in future, but did acknowledge that the concerns of residents needed to be better listened to.
The only party who did not agree with the full roll-out of the EBLN were the Conservatives who, to use Councillor Mark Weston’s own words, have been “more traditionally sceptical” of the scheme and liveable neighbourhood schemes as a whole.
When the Head of Transport, Councillor Ed Plowden, gave his remarks, he shared that the scheme will still be implemented irregardless of the petition and that the Council need the scheme to be in place in full for six months to gather data before making any changes.
Mr. Plowden shared that the need for the EBLN was in part due to the Temple Quarter redevelopment which will see increased traffic volumes as a result and hinted at new bus services… but did not make any promises of this, or give any set timescales.
This links in nicely with a question that I submitted to full council asking why it is proposed to implement a bus gate on Marsh Lane where no buses travel along this road, and have not done so in a number of years?
I have not received a response to this question, but I am led to believe from Mr. Plowden’s hint that a new bus service will travel along Marsh Lane to go to and thro St. Philips Marsh.
But the real question has to be asked of why are the City Council only pressing ahead with these transport changes now as part of the Temple Quarter redevelopment, when such public transport improvements and general traffic and transport infrastructure changes were needed long before to benefit those who still continue to work, live, shop and go about other engagements within the St. Philips area and the surrounding neighbourhoods?
Are the wants and needs of Bristol University and private developers coming before the wants and needs of East Bristol, where public and community spaces and services are in a woeful state crying out for much needed support and financial assistance from Local and National levels, but continue to have to make do with what little they have?
This certainly seems to be the case, especially considering further redevelopments that are proposed to come into place for Lawrence Hill in future, and the South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme coming into place at the same time that the Bedminster area sees vast new student and housing developments shoot upwards and outwards.
The meeting was live-streamed and can be viewed here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jTbSPFs4-XI
Hot off the back of the Council meeting, ETM contractors returned this morning to Avonvale Road and Marsh Lane, but once again residents from Barton House and the surrounding streets came out to protest, which this time saw the police attend.
But in similar fashion to the previous attempts by ETM to implement the traffic changes, they were turned away by residents, staying true to the comment from one Somali lady who is a resident of Barton House that they will “continue to come out, for as long as it takes”.
Photos of the Avonvale Road - Marsh Lane protest are courtesy of Sarah Foley.
