What is a Liveable Neighbourhood?

Use this page to find out more about Liveable Neighbourhoods (LNs), how they benefit communities and how we are developing LNs in Bath and North East Somerset.

About LNs

This is a community-led programme which will see public realm improvements in 15 residential areas of Bath and North East Somerset over the next few years.

Aims of the programme

The aim of the LN programme is 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 on busy roads and walk-to-school routes
• Wider footways to help children and people with buggies and mobility aids get around
• Better cycle lanes and secure on-street bike storage
• Pleasant outdoor spaces where you can sit, relax and meet others
• Traffic-calming measures which could include speed cushions, one-way streets and raised ‘buildouts’
• Through-traffic restrictions where residential roads are used excessively by motorists as short cuts

Benefits of active travel

Improving active travel routes between homes, schools and community hubs can create a safer, healthier environment for everyone to enjoy.

Active travel can help:

• Boost our mood
• Combat loneliness
• Improve our health

Reducing our dependency on cars can also ease congestion and improve the environment.  

Further examples and more information on the benefits of LNs are provided below. 

How we are developing LNs

15 LNs are being designed by communities in Bath and North East Somerset to address issues they commonly experience on residential streets. We are supporting this process with extensive consultation and engagement, including co-design workshops with residents.

View the outcome of these consultations on our project development timeline and on the individual LN pages 

Learn more about our approach to developing LNs

We are also developing the following schemes (these are separate from the wider programme):

• Through-traffic restriction trials (three areas)  
• Seven new residents parking zones (Bath) 

Benefits of LNs

Select a topic below to find out more about the benefits of LNs.

Safer streets for all

LNs aim to tackle speeding, excessive through traffic and pavement parking in residential streets, all of which increase the risk of accidents.

Where anti-social driving is common, people are less inclined to walk or cycle because it is not safe, which contributes to the problem. This is a common problem on school routes at peak times.

In narrow streets, bad parking can block access for emergency vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances, affecting their ability to respond quickly to calls. Pavement parking can obstruct the footway which can force people to walk on the road instead.

LNs can make streets safer by restricting traffic, preventing anti-social parking and re-allocating road space to make wider, safer pavements, as well as better crossings and cycle lanes.

Better health and well-being

More people will choose to walk or wheel their short journeys if routes are safe, clean and well-maintained.

Daily physical activity can help prevent and manage chronic conditions and diseases, including cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression.

Attractive places to sit, rest and meet others bring communities together and help to combat loneliness.

Fewer vehicles can also improve air quality, supporting those with asthma and other lung conditions.

Examples of physical interventions

The LN programme could include a range of improvements to neighbourhood streets depending on the size and scope of the area. Select one of the topics below for further information on the different examples of physical interventions.

New or improved paths, footways and crossings

• Wider pavements to improve access and safety for a range of users, including family groups and people using mobility aids
• Continuous (raised) crossings on side roads designed to give priority for pedestrians
• Signalised and zebra crossings with dropped kerbs and tactile paving
• Informal crossings with dropped kerbs and tactile paving
• Pedestrian refuges (raised islands) in the middle of wide/busy roads to help people cross
• Shared paths wide enough to accommodate cyclists and family groups

Traffic-calming measures

• Parking restrictions to prevent pavement parking and prioritise residents parking (such as residents parking zones)
• Speed cushions
• Modal filters (such as bollards and planters) that restrict through-traffic in residential streets which are persistently used by motorists as short cuts
• Narrowing junction widths to slow approaching traffic
• Buildouts to narrow the width of the road and slow approaching traffic
• One-way streets

If through-traffic restrictions are installed, vehicle access for residents and their visitors, and for the emergency and other key services, is maintained.

Better cycling infrastructure

• Cycle lanes
• Cycle hire
• Cycle storage

Improved public spaces

• Space for sitting and socialising
• Improved signage
• Better maintenance of the roads, resurfacing and shrub maintenance near walkways (should these be raised as issues the relevant departments will be informed and improvements made outside of the LN programme)
• Parklets and planters
• Public art

Other improvements

EV car charging, which is being progressed in a separate programme.

Residents' Parking Schemes

Examples of behavioural interventions

Communities can encourage behavioural change to support the aims of a LN.

Examples include:

• Encouraging people to walk or cycle short journeys in the neighbourhood, rather than drive (if they can)
• Introducing car clubs and promoting car shares instead of second-car ownership
• Starting a community speed watch
• Running anti-idling campaigns, especially outside schools and on high streets
• Reporting weight restriction infringements
• Walking buses (to school)

Find out more about travelling sustainably and its benefits, including saving money and improved health and well-being.

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View the project development timeline

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.