A packed crowd of locals met for a campaign event against low traffic neighbourhoods at a hotel in Bath on Thursday 2nd February.
Speaking at the meeting, organiser Caroline Horsford said: “It’s clear that liveable neighbourhoods, while sounding idyllic, will change the way we all live drastically.”
In liveable, or low traffic, neighbourhoods (LTNs), planters are installed on residential streets to stop them from being used as through roads.
Ms Horsford also criticised residents’ parking zones, the “ring of steel” city centre security zone, and the use of modal filters which only allow certain types of vehicles though.
David Pie has run a shop on Moorland Road for 20 years and said: “We have never had trading as bad as it is now.”
Delivering a statement from the Moorland Road Association, which he chairs, Mr Pie said: “The council’s residents’ parking zone for Oldfield Park area is a disaster for Moorland Road high street and the shops and bus that operate there, and is a huge own goal by the council.
“If they council had worked with us, they could have devised a scheme that met with their aim of reducing traffic and parking while protecting local shops and businesses.
“Instead the council has chosen to ignore the concerns of local shops and businesses and are pushing ahead with a scheme that will inflict irreparable damage to the Moorland Road community.”
Fathieh Wilkins and Norma Jaggon-Barrett criticised how the consultation had been done.
They both live on Southlands where a trial LTN is currently in place and had previously told minister Paul Scully about their concerns at a Conservative campaign event.
Ms Jaggon-Barret said that there were over 300 households on the estate but only 28 people that lived there had responded to the consultation.
She said: “Of the 28 people from Southlands that actually responded, 11 voted in favour and 12 voted against, and five weren’t sure. So guess what?
“The ones that weren’t sure and the ones that voted in favour were counted as the majority and the scheme went ahead. Now, that’s not democracy.”
Planters were installed on the street in November, but are currently in place as a six-month trial, with Bath and North East Somerset Council planning to see how they have been received in April.
In the initial consultation, people were asked if they supported, partially supported, or opposed the proposal.
But Ms Wilkins said not everybody knew about the consultation. She said: “Apparently this consultation started two years ago. I didn’t receive anything, but also who opens letters? Unless they are appeals or something you are aware of, you just put them in with the leaflets and then you throw them.”
She added that she knocked on doors in Southlands to find out if people were in support. She said: “The majority did not know that they could have a say, they didn’t know it was a trial, they didn’t know about the consultation, and they were so inconvenienced by it.”
Other speakers at the meeting included Sharron Davies MBE, an Olympic swimmer who lives near Bath.
Organisers believe about 350 people turned up to the meeting which was organised by campaigns organisation Together, with some having to be turned away as the venue at the DoubleTree Hilton on Walcot Street had hit capacity.
Ms Horsford told the meeting that councillors Manda Rigby and Sarah Warren had been invited but had prior commitments, although Ms Rigby, the cabinet member for transport, said that the invitation had come too late for her to be able to attend.
She said: “Its a shame the organisers left it so late to invite a council representative. We know there are genuine concerns that some residents and businesses hold.
“We continue to talk to residents and businesses and will seek the best outcome for all.”
In a statement, Ms Warren, the cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable travel, added: “I have received a few reports from the meeting, and am happy to follow up on some specific issues raised.
“We have consulted very widely indeed on the three Liveable neighbourhood trials currently being piloted, using a mix of online, consultations in different formats, direct letters, community meetings, specific talks with affected residents, so am disappointed that some people feel we did not engage.
“There are always a range of views and we’ve even had complaints from communities waiting for their liveable neighbourhoods that we have done too much consultation and engagement, and we just need to get on with the trials and take feedback during them.
“I will continue to talk with residents and officers to see what more we can do. Our commitment to creating healthy, connected, sustainable, truly liveable neighbourhoods is undiminished.”
Some councillors did attend. Conservative councillor for Bathwick, Yukteshwar Kumar, was at the meeting and described it afterwards as “one of the biggest public meetings in the heart of the city.”
Together, the group who ran the event, has campaigned against LTNs in Oxford and several London boroughs, as well as against the expansion of the London ultra-low emissions zone.
Co-founder of Together Alan Miller said: “It’s very much the case that if the majority of people, even a sizeable group of people are vocal and organised properly and efficiently, you can get a proper debate but you can also get results.”
The microphone was also given to members of the public to speak at the evening, who shared a mix of views.
Although some people spoke about concerns about 5G and the World Economic Forum, others were more focused on how traffic calming measures were impacting their communities.
Paul Tucker, who is standing as a Labour candidate to represent Walcot on the council, was heckled as he said: “I know there are loads of people in this room who have fallen out of love with democracy, who don’t like the way the council is being run.
“But we know the alternative: we need to vote, we need to contact our councillors, we need to hold them to account.”
Hannah Downey, who runs a business on York Street and took Bath and North East Somerset Council to a public inquiry over the city centre security zone, said that she was “teetering on the edge” of deciding whether to run for the council.
She described herself as “the only person in Bath who held the council to account over the ring of steel.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter