Liveable neighbourhood 'Protesters don't speak for us all', says resident

LOCAL residents who say their lives have been transformed for the better by the controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood have described their frustration after a group of protesters halted work to install a new bus gate.

- Tristan CORK

A group of local residents blocked the road in Barton Hill early last Friday

(Paul Gillis)

Protesters stopped council contractors from creating a new bus gate on Avonvale Road in Barton Hill last week, citing opposition to the scheme, which they said has also put the future of the Hamblins fish and chip shop at risk.

But one resident of Avonvale Road said he was left frustrated by the protests, and called for the council to make the scheme permanent.

Peter Brooks lives close to the site of the bus gate junction with Marsh Lane, which has proved possibly the most controversial of all the traffic control measures.

He said the protesters who stopped council contractors ETM from working on Friday were “acting in bad faith or out of spite” because the changes the council were implementing came after consulting with local residents.