Are SBLN Campaigners Being Silenced?
There is growing evidence that people who are asking challenging questions about the proposed South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (SBLN) scheme are being sidelined, deflected and "edited out".
Example 1 - Transport & Connectivity Committee
A few weeks ago a version of the updated proposals for the SBLN were accidently published. BCC explained this was a mistake and that they would publish the proper version later in September.
The updated proposals were published on Tuesday 15th Sept, three hours after the midday deadline for submitting statements to the Transport & Connectivity Committee meeting on 17 Sep. The Question deadline was 5pm on the previous Friday, 11th Sept.
This meant it was not possible for people to submit any questions or statements related to the "proper proposals". The next opportunity to ask questions and submit statements will be at the Transport & Connectivity Committee meeting on 22 Oct.
Some questions were submitted about the SBLN at the 17 Sep meeting and some of questions are being re-directed the Freedom of Information process instead of being answered in the meeting.
Your questions are being considered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as per the response at full council and a response will be provided through the formal FOIA process.
Anyone who has submitted FOI requests to BCC knows that it can take months to get a response and the requests are often refused. There are examples (6 so far in 2026) where complaints to the ICO about these failed requests have been upheld by the Information Commissioners Office with Decision Notices being formally sent to BCC.
Example 2 - North Street Monitoring Data
In May 2026 I noticed that VivaCity Camera Sensors had been installed on North St.
These sensors are VivaCity Sensors, which are used across Bristol to monitor "movements" of pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If these sensors are being used to record "movements" on North Street and linked roads then that data would be very useful in helping us understand the current situation in Southville, which could then be compared with the "movements" after the SBLN proposals are implemented.
This would provide objective evidence of the changes (positive or negative) before and after the SBLN, and would also prove or disprove the claim that the SBLN proposals will result in more traffic being displaced onto North St as a result of the SBLN changes.
BCC publish their VivaCity data every day on their Open Data Portal, but there was no data being published for the Southville sensors.
I submitted an FOI request, asking for the Southville sensor data to be released.
BCC told me that there were not any VivaCity sensors in Southville where data was being collected. I provided clarification that I had photographic evidence that there were sensors on North St and asked them to reconsider their response.
My FOI request was formally refused on 15 Sep 2026, just after the deadline for submitted questions to the T&C Committee.
I believe the reasons for their refusal are spurious and have submitted a complaint to the ICO. But it has already taken almost 4 months to get a response from BCC and it will take months to get a decision from the ICO.
Example 3 - BBC Interview Edit
Zoe Mack was interviewed on Joe Sims Radio Bristol breakfast show on 17th September where she gave an example of how the proposed SBLN changes would affect her and those in her area. She stated she would have to drive past two Southville Schools to get out of Southville.
“Well, can I give you an example of something? Right. I live on Stackpool Road and [I] when I go East, North East, South East, quite a bit. I have to do that. My route would normally go straight [I go straight] out to Coronation Road. I won't be traveling through my Southville area. I get out to Coronation Road as quickly as possible. So now when I leave my home, I will have to go [down] either to north street and join the queues there because it will be busy. People think it's going to reduce traffic. It's not going to reduce traffic, it's going to make it worse. [I will be going] My quickest route would be to go down Stackpool Road, onto Dean Lane and then I join, what will be, every other person leaving my area in one pincer point trying to get [into] near Asda where you turn off from St. John's Road. So what happens is I then drive past two schools. I've got Southville Primary and Holy Cross. Is that a liveable neighbourhood?”
About an hour later in the Breakfast Show an edited clip of Zoe's interview was played:
“It's awful. It really is awful and I think maybe the devil is in the detail.
My route would normally go straight [I go straight] out to Coronation Road. I won't be traveling through my Southville area. I get out to Coronation Road as quickly as possible. So now when I leave my home, I will have to go [down] either to north street and join the queues there because it will be busy. People think it's going to reduce traffic. It's not going to reduce traffic, it's going to make it worse. [I will be going] My quickest route would be to go down Stackpool Road, onto Dean Lane and then I join, what will be, every other person leaving my area in one pincer point trying to get [into] near Asda where you turn off from St. John's Road. Is that a liveable neighbourhood?”
The important point "So what happens is I then drive past two schools. I've got Southfield Primary and Holy Cross" was removed from this edited version.
In the same show, Joe Sims interviewed Ed Plowden where Ed said:
Let's just remember that in Southville we've got eight school sites, schools and nursery sites and the traffic outside them is choked with cars and we really just try and want to rebalance that.
So What?
When taken in isolation, each of these examples could be explained away. But when taken together they suggest that there is a deliberate campaign to sideline, deflect and selectively manipulate the points being made by people who are opposed to some elements of the SBLN.
In the WECA "East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood: an Independent Review" they mention the SBLN and make this recommendation:
make engagement more meaningful to avoid the division and loss of trust seen in East Bristol
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