Furious residents blockade road as they try to stop council imposing low traffic neighbourhood

Furious residents blockaded a road to try and stop the council imposing low traffic neighbourhood on their street. The stand-off began on this morning as Bristol City Council restarted work to install a 'Liveable Neighbourhood' in parts of East Bristol

Furious residents blockaded a road to try and stop the council imposing low traffic neighbourhood measures on their street.   

The stand-off began this morning as Bristol City Council restarted work to install a 'Liveable Neighbourhood' in parts of East Bristol which would see through roads blocked.

Locals have protested against the controversial scheme before but this morning the police were called as a large group of residents were stopping the work going ahead.

The East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood is an attempt by the city council to reduce traffic in parts of Barton Hill, Lawrence Hill, Redfield and St George by closing off side roads to cars.

This would create a series of no-through roads, dead-ends and cul-de-sacs, while allowing pedestrians and cyclists to go through. 

The aim is to filter all through traffic onto main roads in the area, but the implementation has been hugely controversial, created a lot of congestion, with some residents saying their car journeys have doubled or tripled in length.

Earlier this month, the city council announced a 'pause' on work to implement the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, amid a growing co-ordinated protest from  residents, who were repeatedly trying to prevent the work from taking place. 

The Liveable Neighbourhood is a trial scheme at the moment, so work to stop-up roads is temporary - often with concrete blocks or large planters to block access for vehicles.

But this morning, council contractors arrived to implement Liveable Neighbourhood measures on Marsh Road in Barton Hill, at the junction where the famous Valentine's Day Banksy artwork is located. 

Residents were there to meet them, and police were called.

It comes after neighbours formed human shields in November last year to prevent workers from installing planters on their street as part of the scheme.

Bristol City Council said at the time: 'We are aware of the demonstration at the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood site earlier today.

'Any action from residents which delays works will result in the programme being set back, which will have a financial impact on the scheme and cause further disruption of traffic to other areas.

 It's really important that the sites remain safe for the public and the contractors to work.'