Five new Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes for Bath
It's part of the latest trial in the city - despite thousands of people objecting to the plans
Five new traffic schemes in Bath will go ahead on a trial basis in the spring despite thousands of people urging the council to drop the plans.
In this latest round of trial liveable neighbourhoods, Gay Street between Queen Square and the Circus will be totally overhauled, with traffic to no longer be able to travel past the George Street junction. But it is the council’s plans to prevent people using Sydney Road and Sydney Place as a shortcut and to close Winifred’s Lane at the top of Cavendish Hill which have been met with major opposition.
Over 3,500 people signed a petition calling on Jacob Rees-Mogg to intervene over the Sydney Road scheme. Meanwhile over 1,000 signed a petition against the plan to close Winifred’s Lane. Locals said the Winifred’s Lane closure would reduce traffic on Lansdown Crescent, one of Bath’s most expensive streets, but funnel those cars through roads with blind corners and past schools, putting children at risk.
The plans will also see a through-traffic restriction implemented on Catharine Place between Margaret’s Buildings and Rivers Street Mews, and a one way loop on three residential roads next to Newbridge School.
Council cabinet member for highways Manda Rigby said she had listened to the concerns people had raised, but would continue with the trial so that data could be collected on whether these fears were realised.
She said: “Since we announced the proposals in December, lots of residents have contacted us – with a very wide range of views. We’ve given very careful consideration to all the views put forward and I have decided to proceed with the ETROs experimental traffic regulation orders in trials at Charmouth Road, Lyme Road and Lyme Gardens and the three ETROs in the Lower Lansdown and Circus area.
“Some of those not in favour of the plans have expressed concerns about traffic displacement, and this will be very closely monitored to see if in reality these concerns are justified and then either further mitigations will be put in place or the trial would not be made permanent.”
She added: “We are committed to delivering our Liveable Neighbourhood programme because we want to create more equitable streets where everyone is safe, regardless of whether they drive, walk or cycle. But we want to base our final decisions on evidence, and ETRO trials let us do this. We will not reach a final decision on whether to make them permanent until consultation feedback and all supporting evidence – such as traffic monitoring data – is considered.”
Council cabinet lead for liveable neighbourhoods, Joel Hirst added: “We will continue to run a period of informal engagement until the trials are installed to ensure we adequately address concerns and help people plan for the trialled changes.
“We will inform those living in and around the trials of the decision by letter and organise events where residents can speak with advisors before the trial is installed. We will also contact again key stakeholders, such as schools, businesses, and other organisations.
“We expect the trials to be installed later in the spring. Once we install the trials, a public consultation survey will be available online and in other formats. Within the next month, dedicated web pages will be prepared for the trials at www.bathnes.gov.uk/liveableneighbourhoods, and regularly updated.”
The decision to press ahead with the five new trial liveable neighbourhood traffic restrictions comes just as councillors have called-in one of the decisions to make a current trial permanent. A traffic restriction was installed on Southlands in Bath on a trial basis in November 2022, with the council recently deciding to make it permanent despite 57% of people on the street being opposed to the scheme.
A council statement said the concerns people had raised “were not borne out in practice.” Following the call-in by eleven opposition councillors, the scheme is set to go before a scrutiny panel which may recommend the council alter or drop the scheme.
The liveable neighbourhood trials are funded by £736k from the West of England Combined Authority.