Liveable neighbourhood 'Ignored' residents call for council rethink

PEOPLE living in the heart of the new East Bristol 'Liveable Neighbourhood' say they feel the city council has 'completely failed in its duty of care' for residents and businesses, as the community in Barton Hill prepares for the scheme to be completed.

- Tristan CORK

The council's six-month trial to assess the impact of closing off a series of roads around Barton Hill, Netham Park, Redfield, Lawrence Hill and parts of St George is set to begin at the start of next week, when the cameras enforcing three bus gates in Barton Hill are switched on.

The creation of the 'Liveable Neighbourhood' was supposed to be completed by the end of last year, but a series of direct action protests held up the physical work to create the bus gates, new no entry roads and junctions, and what are called 'modal filters' which are placed across roads and let people walk, cycle, scoot or ride motorbikes through, but not drive cars or other vehicles.

The city council announced that the bus gate cameras in Barton Hill will be live from Monday with only buses, taxis, motorcycles and emergency vehicles and some local residents who have successfully applied for exemptions allowed to pass through the virtual gates.

The announcement has been met with renewed anger from those residents in Redfield and Barton Hill who have been consistently opposing the scheme, and calling for the council to rethink the project for more than a year now.

"The name itself - 'liveable neighbourhood' - is an insult to a community that has lived here for generations," said Samira Musse, from the Barton Hill Activity Club. "[Is] Bristol City Council suggesting that it wasn't liveable before?

"These three bus gates appear designed to generate revenue at the expense of the local community, residents who are already struggling," she added.