Public engagement outcomes now available
We have considered your feedback on Liveable Neighbourhood proposals for this area. See Public Engagement Outcomes and the final list of proposals for the area outlined below.
The Southlands area in Weston is one of several areas in our community-led Liveable Neighbourhood (LN) programme. It is a residential area located northwest of Bath City Centre, approximately two miles from Bath Spa train station.
The Liveable Neighbourhood Programme aims to improve residential street environments and create more space for those that want to walk, wheel or cycle their short journeys.
Learn more about the LN programme including our aims and approaches.
Our proposals
During previous consultations, residents in Southlands told us that they were concerned about the volume and speed of through-traffic in the area.
To help tackle this issue, we trialled a through-traffic restriction on Southlands which became permanent in January 2024 after a six-month public consultation.
Read more about the through-traffic restriction trial and outcomes of the consultation.
View the proposals on a map
Click on the numbers on the map to read a description of each proposal.
The numbers on the map correspond to the following annotations:
Plans for Southland's through-traffic restriction
- Narrow a 5-metre stretch of road at the existing location of the restriction (outside numbers 126 to 128) to create a 3-metre-wide cycle lane with wider pavements on the western side. Install bollards lining the pavements to prevent vehicles from bypassing the filter.
- Install two removable bollards in the centre of the lane, allowing cyclists/mobility scooters to pass through but not motor vehicles. Emergency service vehicles would be able to pass by removing the bollards.
- Vehicle access to homes would be maintained from either side of this restriction.
- Install a knee-high fence around the perimeter of the grassed area to prevent people from driving on the grass.
A design sketch of the proposed Southlands Modal Filter
Plans for Penn Hill Road
- Install a zebra crossing near the entrance to Weston Bowling Club raised to the height of the pavement and incorporating tactile paving. This replaces the informal crossing.
- Widen the pavements on either side of the zebra crossing and narrow the road to 6m at the location of the crossing.
- The bus stop will remain in its existing location.
Paths from Southlands to the High Street
- Redesign the steps to the high street in line with DfT’s Inclusive Mobility Guidance to improve access (this replaces the boardwalk proposal).
- Replace lighting columns.
- Cut back overgrown hedges.
These improvements would mean:
- an attractive, permanent through-traffic restriction design that enables the emergency services to pass through the area by collapsing a set of bollards
- improved lighting and pedestrian access to the High Street shops, including for people with disabilities, mobility aids and pushchairs
- slower traffic speeds and a safer crossing on Penn Hill Road on a walk-to-school route
Public engagement outcomes
In January 2025, 22 people shared their views on the proposals with general support for the measures as well as alternative suggestions and some concerns.
The key themes that emerged were:
- suggestions to consider alternatives to boulders
- concerns over the visibility and accessibility of the bollards
- concerns of the safety and accessibility of the coardwalk
- comments on the maintenance and lighting of the paths to the High Street
- concerns over the new position of the bus stop
- concerns that the additional crossing and narrowing of the road is unnecessary and could impact safety and traffic.
Read the full public engagement outcome report (April 2025) including the designers' responses.
Designers' response
We have summarised the designers' response to the key themes:
- Designers looked at alternatives to boulders to protect the grass area adjacent to the modal filter, and have proposed a low fence to allow access for maintenance etc.
- The proposed bollards can be removed by emergency services for access and reflective strips ensure they can be seen in the dark. We have engaged the emergency services on the scheme.
- Due to several constraints, the boardwalk ramp from Southlands to the High Street is not technically feasible, so we are improving the design and accessibility of the existing steps in line with the Department for Transport (DfT) Inclusive Mobility guidance.
- We will consider impacts on residents and local wildlife when designing the lighting. Regular maintenance for hedges will be scheduled.
- The crossing and bus stops on Penn Hill Road are positioned in the only technically feasible positions and are approved by safety officers.
- By design, Penn Hill Road will be narrowed at the point of the crossing, which will slow the traffic. This will improve safety for pedestrians.
- The scheme will be monitored once in place.
Read the consultation leaflet which accompanied the public engagement in January 2025.
What happens next
We have already obtained funding from the UK Government (secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority) to install these improvements.
This follows several years of engagement and consultation with the community and rigorous shortlisting.
You can find more detail on how we developed this design by reading the 'Explore further context’ section on this web page.
Our intention is to:
- Install the new modal filter design between 8 and 19 December 2025, subject to Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) with 21-days' notice. This will enable us to move the point of the existing restriction from the planters to the bollards. You will see the TRO notices in the area from 30 October.
- Install the new zebra crossing in June 2026, subject to a 21-day TRO.
- Redesign the steps leading to the High Street in July 2026.
We will keep residents in the LN area (and neighbouring streets) informed of our progress either by letter or via the parish council/local news as appropriate, including the construction timelines and any temporary restrictions during installation.
Please sign up for our e-newsletter on the Southlands LN to keep informed of final design and construction timetables.
Traffic Regulation Orders
Find out more about how we decide on changes to road layouts using Traffic Regulation Orders.
Explore further context
Please expand the following headings to learn more about how we developed this design:
- In Autumn 2020, we asked residents across the district how they felt about LNs.
- View the consultation output report from January 2022.
- 48 communities then applied to become a LN, via ward councillors.
- You can request to view the original application for an LN for your area by emailing LNs@bathnes.gov.uk (the format cannot be made accessible for this web page).
- In June 2021, we prioritised areas where development of LNs could start (this included the Southlands area).
In December 2021, we asked for your feedback on what was good about the Southlands area, what transport-related issues you experience, and what improvements would make the most impact.
Out of the 1,625 responses submitted as part of our public engagement in December 2021, 67 people commented on the Southlands area.
Below is a summary of what people said about Southlands:
What is good about the area?
- 34 said 'strong community spirit'
- 31 said 'close to shops and services'
- 11 said 'safe and healthy environment'
What issues are experienced?
- 28 said 'through traffic'
- 25 said 'not enough space for wheeling, walking or cycling'
- 21 said 'speeding traffic'
- 16 said school run traffic'
- 12 said 'parking'
- 10 said 'poor facilities for disabled people'
What measures could improve the area?
- 30 said 'a restriction on through traffic or HGVs'
- 15 said 'new pedestrian crossings'
- 14 said 'new or wider footways'
- 14 said 'new or improved cycle lanes'
- 10 said 'trees and planting'
On 22 June 2022, we held a co-design workshop with 20 residents who had expressed an interest in staying involved in the process during earlier engagement.
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.
Our partner Sustrans helped 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. These priorities were considered during later shortlisting to reach the final proposals.
Following the co-design workshop, we trialled a through-traffic restriction on Southlands for a minimum of six months from November 2022.
During this time, we monitored traffic and air quality impacts and gathered the views of residents and the wider public. In January 2024, a decision was made to make it permanent.
During the first half of 2023, we considered the wider community proposals for the area (in addition to the through-traffic restriction) against a range of criteria, working alongside local ward councillors to arrive at initial recommendations.
We scored proposals against set criteria to assess impacts.
View the early draft recommendation report (superseded by the Full Business Case proposal)
To secure the funds to install the LN programme it was necessary to submit a Full Business Case (FBC) to the West of England Combined Authority.
This involved appraising all early recommendations for each of the LN areas against the following criteria, to produce a final shortlist:
- Technical feasibility
- Alignment with the objectives of Liveable Neighbourhoods and community benefits
- Affordability/budget constraints
The shortlist was submitted to the West of England Combined Authority in a Full Business Case to be reviewed by its committee. The funding was secured on 20 September 2024.
View the press release on securing the grant from the FBC.
The Committee's report on the FBC is on page 45 of the Agenda Report Pack which includes a link to the Liveable Neighbourhood Full Business Case.
The shortlisted proposals for the Southlands area are presented under 'Our proposals' on this web page.
Liveable Neighbourhood project timeline
You can view a history of the development of Liveable Neighbourhoods and relevant reports on our project timeline.
To stay up to date with the project, you can:
- subscribe to our newsletter
- follow us on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
If you have a query or would like to talk to an advisor, please email us at LNs@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 39 40 25 and request a call back from a team member.