Date published: 2025-03-13 | Category: Roads, travel and transport, Tackling the climate and ecological emergency, Liveable Neighbourhoods
A decision to make an experimental through-traffic restriction in New Sydney Place and Sydney Road permanent has been upheld by a panel of councillors.
A specially-convened meeting of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Climate Emergency and Sustainability Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel met today (13 March) to review a Single Member Decision (SMD) taken by Councillor Mark Elliott, cabinet member for Resources, that the New Sydney Place and Sydney Road scheme be made permanent.
Any nine councillors not in the council’s cabinet may request that a Cabinet or Single Member Decision made, but not yet implemented, be reconsidered by the person or body who made it. This is called a “call-in” and has the effect of preventing the implementation of the decision pending a review of the decision by a Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel.
Twelve councillors had requested a call-in of this decision and the Climate Emergency and Sustainability Policy Development and Scrutiny panel met to determine it.
The panel heard from residents and councillors with a range of views on the scheme and agreed to dismiss the call-in, which means the decision shall take effect immediately.
Councillor Mark Elliott, cabinet member for Resources, said: “I am pleased that the panel dismissed the call-in, having heard that the decision had been made after careful consideration, with the right processes in place and following wide consultation. We recognise that people have different views on this but we always take a balanced view by considering objections alongside the specific evidence of what is actually happening, the overall aims of the scheme and our own policies on active and sustainable travel.
Councillor Elliott added: ”Crucially, the panel heard that 72% of those living inside the Liveable Neighbourhood support it and most of the objections came from outside of the Bathwick area. The panel also clearly did not accept that we did not engage with residents as we mailed 3000 households about the scheme. This trial was a six-month public consultation with the measure in place. It gave everyone plenty of opportunity to experience the measure and raise their views.”