London Road and Snow Hill area

Update on the London Road and Snow Hill Liveable Neighbourhood area

For the latest news on this Liveable Neighbourhood, please read the following statement by Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of the Council.

Read Cllr Kevin Guy's open letter on the future of London Road and Snow Hill LN Area (18 February 2025)

Our intention was to engage the community on preliminary designs for this area in spring 2025. The measures to be included in the design were summarised at a high level in the final business case (FBC) for the programme including a bus gate on Camden Road, a series of one-ways, and a through-traffic restriction to help reduce traffic volumes in residential areas.

Following the statement by Cllr Kevin Guy, we will not progress these plans. For background on the FBC, please read the press release from 12 October 2024. 

The London Road and Snow Hill area is one of 15 areas in our community-led Liveable Neighbourhoods programme. The London Road and Snow Hill area is located to the north-east of Bath city centre, approximately 1 mile from Bath Spa train station.

About the programme

Liveable Neighbourhoods is a community-led programme that aims to improve residential streets and encourage safe, active and more sustainable forms of travel, such as walking, wheeling and cycling.

Typical improvements suggested by communities are:  

• Better crossings, footways and cycle lanes to connect homes with shops, schools and community hubs 
• Traffic-calming measures to tackle anti-social driving, speeding and inconsiderate parking
• Pleasant places for people to sit and meet others outside

Find out more about LNs and their benefits

Our approach

Our role is to support communities to develop their own LNs, engaging with them at every stage of development. We want to hear from a diverse range of people to ensure the final designs meet everyone’s needs.  

Read more about our approach to developing LNs 

Development of this LN

• In Autumn 2020, we asked residents across the district how they felt about LNs, and 48 communities then applied to become a LN, via ward councillors.
• In June 2021, we prioritised 15 areas where development of LNs could start (this included the London Road and Snow Hill area).
• In December 2021, we asked for your feedback on what was good about the area, what transport-related issues you experience, and what improvements would make the most impact. 
• In Spring/Summer 2022, we then held a series of co-design workshops where residents prioritised the measures they wanted to see included (see Co-design outcomes below).
• During 2023, we shortlisted these proposals, taking costs and practicalities into consideration.

View our full project development timeline which includes links to the relevant reports.

Please expand the sections below to find out more.

Outcomes of the original engagement

Out of the 1,625 responses submitted as part of our public engagement in December 2021, 163 people commented on the London Road and Snow Hill area. Below is a summary of what people said:

What is good about the area?

• 110 said 'close to shops and services'
• 79 said 'strong community spirit'
• 41 said 'good public transport links'

What issues are experienced?

• 105 said 'through traffic'
• 72 said 'speeding traffic'
• 72 said 'parking'
• 68 said 'not enough space for wheeling, walking or cycling'
• 62 said 'school run traffic'
• 57 said 'HGV traffic'

What measures could improve the area?

• 102 said 'a restriction on through traffic or HGVs'
• 47 said 'new or improved cycle lanes'
• 46 said 'residents parking'
• 37 said 'new or wider footways'
• 37 said 'trees, planting and spaces to sit'

Outcomes of the co-design workshops

We held a workshop on 31 May 2022 with residents who expressed an interest during earlier consultations to co-design the London Road and Snow Hill Liveable Neighbourhood.

At the workshop, attendees took part in a series of exercises to identify what they liked about the area, what could be improved, and what specific measures could help, plotting these on a map of the area.

To see the maps and the longlist of ideas suggested by the community, please view the report below.

View the workshop report

Our partner Sustrans is helping to broaden our engagement by involving people in the community with different and seldom-heard voices. During co-design, they visited community groups to gather their feedback.

View the Sustrans workshop report

In August 2022, attendees were invited back to review the outcomes of the workshop and prioritise their ideas, focusing on the original application area. More information on the outcomes will soon be provided below.

Recommendations for design

We are currently shortlisting the community’s priorities for the London Road and Snow Hill area against a range of criteria, including costs and practicalities.

When available, you will be able to read the reports on this web page. This will include the prioritisation workshop report, the recommendation criteria, and the shortlist for the LN area.

Next steps

We are preparing a full business case (FBC) for the LN programme to establish funding priorities. This will be submitted to the West of England Combined Authority in winter 2023/4.

We will engage the public on the overall design once the FBC has been approved.

View the project development timeline

Please subscribe to our newsletter to be informed of progress. If you would like to receive this newsletter in another format please contact us using the details below.

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Contact us

If you would like to talk to an advisor, get involved in the LN programme or be kept up to date on future events, email us at LNs@bathnes.gov.uk, or call 01225 39 40 25 (and request a call-back from a team member)

Please also let us know if you need this information in easy-read or an alternative format.