Proposed changes to multi-million pound transport projects to be considered

This follows a review of the programme, agreed in October, by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority of the region-wide allocations of the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which they administer.

Bristol has been allocated £179 million for its CRSTS programme. To make sure it can still deliver on its priorities, the council is considering changing the cost, timeframe, and scope of some of its key transport projects.

Main changes include:

• Broadmead – reducing the overall budget by £8.4 million from £27.8 million to £19.4 million as estimates for materials and diverting underground services have reduced. Elements of the scheme related to planning applications, such as The Galleries and St Mary Le Port, will also be postponed to line up more with these developments. This includes removing the central section of Union Street as well as High Street and Wine Street from the current plans.
• Bus Route 2 – changing how the central part of the number 2 bus route from Queens Road to College Green is funded, using £5.3 million Joint Air Quality Unit funding from the government and £8 million Clean Air Zone income rather than CRSTS. Early work to refurbish the Canon’s Road and College Green junction, which is part of the same project and is nearing completion, has been funded using £1.04 million from CRSTS.
• A4 Portway – increasing the budget by £1.35 million from £21.7 million to £23.1 million, to deliver higher quality drainage improvements and kerb realignment along the route after encountering issues on site. Competitive tenders for the main construction phase, which is expected to start in the spring, were also higher than expected.
• M1 metrobus route extension – reducing the budget from £4.65 million to £3.49 million, after favourable tender costs and a reduction in the amount of contingency funding.
• East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood – temporary use of £2.4 million of Clean Air Zone income, to complete the full business case, which includes the proposed changes for the scheme that were announced in December, while a change request for CRSTS funding is resolved to release DfT funding. This will be done in parallel with the Mayoral Combined Authority’s independent review of the project.
• South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods – increasing the initial budget by £1.32 million to complete the full business case, as more detailed design work is being carried out to feedback from residents and key stakeholders.

These proposals, plus smaller-scale changes to other projects, would bring CRSTS programme costs down by a total of £22.3 million.

Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, said:

“We want our city to benefit from cleaner, safer and greener transport options – from more reliable bus journeys to safer walking, wheeling and cycling routes. That’s why we remain committed to delivering these transformational schemes.

“With our share of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement now confirmed, and considering the high cost of construction, we are proposing how we achieve our transport vision for a resilient Bristol within the budgets allocated by the Mayoral Combined Authority.”

Committee members will hear how modelling shows that the plan to reroute through-traffic away from Park Street, as part of the Bus Route 2 project, will help the council to meet its obligations for legal levels of air quality.

 

“Moving forward with our plans for Park Street is forecasted to bring down by a year the time it will take us as a city to be compliant with air quality targets, which could allow the Clean Air Zone charge to be removed a year earlier than projected. This is because it has been modelled to reduce air pollution more quickly along Colston Avenue – the most problematic area within Bristol’s Clean Air Zone,” continued Councillor Plowden.

Proposals to bring down costs of the Broadmead project are to take the plans for High Street and Wine Street out of current construction programme. This includes new cycle paths and public spaces. Plans for pedestrian and cycle improvements along the middle section of Union Street, next to The Galleries, would also be put on hold.

Councillor Plowden added:

“We have every intention of delivering the remaining active travel elements as part of a later phase of work when funding allows. With the designs ready, it will be a simple process to include them in a future phase of work. This would also allow us to align construction work with The Galleries and St Mary Le Port developments, which are in the pipeline.”

Find out more about Transport and Connectivity Committee on 5 February.

Extra information

• Bristol’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme of £179.31 million is made up of £143.21 million of UK government funding, secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, and £36.1 million of match funding from the council and developer contributions.
• The full business cases for East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood and South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods will go before Transport and Connectivity Committee separately later this year. If approved, they will be submitted to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to seek CRSTS funding to build the permanent schemes. Statutory consultations would follow.
• Main plans for the central section of Bus Route 2, from Queens Road to College Green via the Triangle and Park Street, include reducing Queens Road to one lane for general traffic in both directions from Whiteladies Road to the Triangle. Plans also include adding a bus gate at the top of Park Street and a bus lane at the College Green and Canons Road junction. General traffic would still be able to drive onto Park Street via St George’s Road and exit in the normal way. Other changes include adding large areas of green public space, separated cycle paths, upgrading bus stops and widening pavements and improving pedestrian crossings.