Bath Green Party councillors Saskia Heijltjes and Joanna Wright have today expressed concern and disappointment following the recent update from Bath & North East Somerset Council on the Pulteney Estate Liveable Neighbourhood (LN) proposals.
Despite the council previously committing to consult the public on plans for this area, no consultation has taken place, and the latest update quietly confirms the scheme has now been “paused” until the results of other transport projects are known.
Cllr Saskia Heijltjes said:
“This press release from the council is titled ‘Update on Liveable Neighbourhoods proposals for the Pulteney Estate area’, but it doesn’t actually tell residents what’s happening in the Pulteney Estate. The key information is buried in the detail: the scheme has been paused, with no public consultation and no timeline for when it might resume. This isn’t good enough.”
The update also claims that the through-traffic restriction on Sydney Road and New Sydney Place has created “a quiet active travel route linking the city centre to National Cycle Route 4”. Cllr Saskia Heijltjes disputes this.
“Anyone who cycles in this area knows that this claim doesn’t reflect reality. The route is still fragmented and includes a dangerous section with poor connectivity. This is not the safe, joined-up infrastructure we’ve been promised.”
The Pulteney Estate LN is one of 15 original Liveable Neighbourhoods agreed in the council’s Full Business Case approved by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in September 2024. Of those, only 10 remained earlier this year, following the cancellation of the London Road and Snow Hill LN in February 2025.
All of these schemes are funded through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which runs only until March 2027. That means any delay to delivery increases the risk that funding will be lost.
This isn’t the first time Green councillors have raised concerns about disconnected planning. Back in December 2024 they called for better integration of the Bath Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Links with other schemes, including LNs to ensure a seamless, connected network. Yet to date, coordination between major projects remains unclear and patchy.
Meanwhile, the M4 to Dorset Coast strategy study, cited as one of the other projects planned to improve active travel and reduce congestion in the area, has no clear timeline for implementation, leaving a question mark over how long residents will be waiting for meaningful change.
“Liveable Neighbourhoods were supposed to be a flagship policy for improving walking, cycling and air quality in our communities,” Cllr Joanna Wright added. “But residents are now seeing delays, cancellations and vague updates. We urgently need transparency, clear communication and genuine progress.”