Long-term future of East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood to be considered
The case for making the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (EBLN) trial scheme permanent will be considered by Bristol City Council’s Transport and Connectivity Committee on Thursday 9 July.
Committee members will be asked to approve the full business case for replacing the temporary measures — which have been trialled as part of a pilot scheme across Barton Hill and parts of Redfield and St George — with permanent infrastructure.
As well as swapping out temporary materials, such as the movable planters and bollards, for high-quality paving and street design, the full business case sets out a series of plans to improve infrastructure across the area.
These plans include adding dropped kerbs, pedestrian crossings, trees and planting areas, enhancing public spaces, and changing the layout of some junctions, such as Church Road’s junction with Chalks Road, where new traffic movements would simplify routes for people driving in and out of the scheme area.
By monitoring East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood before and throughout the trial, we have seen that it is helping to reduce traffic across the area on both the roads within the scheme and on the principal boundary roads. We’ve also recorded big increases in the number of people walking, cycling and taking the bus, helping to create safer, greener and quieter streets.
Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee
“While we hear the voices of people who have found the EBLN trial challenging, it’s allowing children to travel more independently to school, has created quieter streets where people feel more comfortable spending time outside, and is helping to support healthier, more active communities.
These were the original intentions of the scheme, and I am pleased to report that it is meeting these aims and that we are already delivering against the government’s recent policy updates of more people travelling actively, especially children.
Making the EBLN permanent would allow us to move beyond temporary measures and invest in lasting improvements, including new crossings, more planting, and making some key junctions work better.
These long-term improvements, using high quality materials that are built to last, will lock in these positive changes to travel behaviour, improve air quality and road safety, making sure the benefits of a Liveable Neighbourhood are widely felt by residents.
The total scheme, which includes the trial, is estimated to cost around £10 million.
“Creating the permanent scheme would see major investment into public spaces across Barton Hill, St George and Redfield. We’ve heard from many local people about the difference quieter streets have made to their quality of life, and this is our chance to invest in east Bristol’s future,” added Councillor Plowden.
If the EBLN full business case is approved on 9 July, it will be submitted to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to request funding through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, provided by the UK government.
Find out more about Transport and Connectivity Committee and download the report.
East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood timeline
- Early engagement – January to July 2022
- Designing the scheme with the community – September 2022 to February 2023
- Trial scheme plans shared – May to June 2023
- Statutory Traffic Regulation Order consultation – January to February 2024
- Trial scheme built – late 2024 to spring 2025
- Public engagement and polling – September to November 2025
- Engagement and monitoring reports published – December 2025
- Changes to trial scheme – April to June 2026
- Full business case considered by Transport and Connectivity Committee – 9 July 2026
Find out more about East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood at www.bristol.gov.uk/eastbristolliveableneighbourhood
