Revised South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods designs now out

Plans for safer, greener and healthier neighbourhoods across south Bristol have been updated, after feedback from Bristol City Council’s consultation in 2025. 

The South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods (SBLN) proposals have been revised, with the council focussing on updated measures across Southville and Totterdown and new plans for high streets, such as North Street, Cannon Street and Lombard Street.

The updated proposals, plans and visualisations of what the scheme could look like can be viewed on the SBLN website.

The project aims to make streets safer and calmer for pedestrians and cyclists, with a focus on School Streets. Aims also include improving air quality and creating new community outdoor spaces.

Plans to change parking restrictions across the project area will also be taken forward. These include new Residents’ Parking Schemes in Windmill Hill, Totterdown, Ashton Gate, and The Chessels with Parson Street, and a Matchday Parking Scheme in Ashton Vale.

Detailed plans and options for these parking schemes will be shared in the coming months when consultations for each scheme are launched.

Other changes, which are part of the SBLN programme, include investigating where more than 200 trees could be planted, adding dropped kerbs and tactile paving to make crossing the road more accessible, and adding new e-scooter and e-bike hire parking bays, along with other improvements.

Some early work is set to get underway in the coming months. This includes starting the process to introduce a School Street at Ashton Gate School, trialling side road zebra crossings on North Street, improving North’s Street’s junction with Gathorne Road, and installing around 20 cycle hangars across the wider SBLN area which covers all three BS3 wards.

The updated SBLN plans, including new maps for Southville and Totterdown and visualisations of what the changes could look like, are available on the South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods website.

The council’s Transport and Connectivity Committee will consider the next steps for the main SBLN scheme in December. If approved, plans would be submitted to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to seek the funding to build the scheme.

There will be statutory consultations for the Traffic Regulation Order-dependent elements of the scheme early in 2027 before any permanent changes are made. This will be a further opportunity to support or object to specific changes to roads, such as traffic filtering measures, changes to the direction of traffic, and the bus gate.

Comments

Cllr Ed Plowden, chair of the transport and connectivity committee, said: “We have listened to the feedback and have revisited our designs to simplify routes for local people. Our updated proposals will still mean fewer vehicles using residential streets, particularly around the new School Streets in Southville.

“The changes will make it easier for Blue Badge residents to access Totterdown and Southville and for the emergency services to respond to any incidents across these areas.

“We have heard loud and clear that people are concerned about road safety along North Street and are proposing a series of changes to make junctions and crossing the road safer. We’re aiming to start some of this work later this year, while we continue drawing up the detailed designs for the main SBLN scheme.

“We are working with local communities and businesses in Totterdown on designs for new public spaces, to make sure we get them right for the area. Transport officers have also recently worked closely with emergency services, to understand how the overall scheme would change their access and refine the plans.”