Co-discover - results 

We asked 

Between 31 January and 13 March 2022 Bristol City Council asked residents, businesses, and anyone else who travels to or through Barton Hill, Redfield and St George for their views on the area as part of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood early engagement exercise.   

How we engaged

To make sure the community survey reached as wide an audience as possible the team did the following:

• Sent 6,500 surveys to local households and businesses 
• Launched the interactive map and survey online 
• Promoted the engagement 
• Ran online stakeholder briefings
• Visited school assemblies, ran classroom sessions and held school gate information stalls 
• Ran drop-in sessions at the local library and community centre
• Community officers visited local properties 
• Held pop-up on-street information stalls with active travel support

You said

A total of 1,554 people filled in the survey. Of the responses the headline findings are:

• 89% of people who completed the survey are from the local area
• The majority of respondents usually walk or cycle to the community centre, faith space, parks and greenspaces, leisure, health appointments, shopping and errands, education and work
• 55% of respondents walk almost every day
• The top three indicators that are essential are: everyone feels safe to walk and cycle, that there is good air quality, and that it’s easy and convenient to walk, cycle and use public transport 
• The top three problems are: poor air quality, streets too noisy with traffic, and the area feels unsafe for walking and cycling.

On the interactive map 541 comments were plotted by 225 contributors. There were 1,522 ‘agreements’ to comments dropped on the map by other visitors to the site. Of the comments, the headline findings are: 

• 85% of people who contributed are from the local area
• Top five most commented upon themes are: walking, traffic, personal safety concern, street environment and traffic speeds
• Top five negative feelings about area are: not pedestrian friendly, driver behaviour, too much traffic, street feels stressful, and difficult to cross the street
• Top five improvements suggested are: slow down traffic, improve road safety, reduce traffic, safer junction for walking and cycling, and add crossing points

At events, 458 postcards were filled in. Of the responses the headline findings are:

• The top three things that people like about their local area are: parks and green spaces, sense of belonging and community cohesion, and local amenities and activities
• What they want to improve are: road safety, parks and greenspaces, and personal safety

We did

We have reviewed the responses to the survey and comments on the interactive map along with views from local stakeholders, ward members and community groups. 

Having an overview of the issues that people care about most, we have developed a range of possible solutions. This includes measures to reduce, slow and redistribute traffic away from residential streets, as well as measures to make walking and cycling safer, easier and more pleasant. 

We will be adding a list along with descriptions of these measures online in August so the community and stakeholders can think about which ones will work well in their neighbourhood.  

Later in the summer we’ll be inviting local people and stakeholders to a series of workshops in September and October, to find out what they think of the measures, whether they are right for their neighbourhood, and where they could have the most benefit. 

Once we have completed this ‘co-develop’ phase, we will move onto the trial, which will see a number of measures introduced across the pilot area. This will be followed by more community engagement to make sure our final, permanent scheme is right for the community. 

Sign up to be kept up to date about the pilot and how you can get involved.