METRO Mayor Dan Norris has suspended proposals for 24-hour bus lanes on both sides of the A4 Keynsham bypass, it has been revealed.
The plans have been fiercely opposed in Keynsham and Saltford since they were announced in 2023.
Despite overwhelming opposition in a public consultation, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) announced last summer it was sticking with the proposals. But now the decision to suspend the plans has been revealed by the Labour candidate who hopes to succeed Mr Norris in his role at WECA elections this May.
Helen Godwin announced on Facebook: “Many residents have raised concerns with me about these bus lanes, feeling that they’re unnecessary and would make journeys longer, and commuting more difficult.
“So I’ve spoken to the current West of England mayor Dan Norris, and he has withdrawn the consultation and suspended any further development of the scheme.
“I want you to know that if elected, I will not progress this scheme and I will take a fresh look at the wider proposal for the A4, including the option of enhanced rail services and a new station for Saltford.”
Among those who have welcomed the news is Duncan Hounsell, who represents Saltford ward on Bath and North East Somerset Council.
The Liberal democrat councillor said: “I am delighted that WECA has suspended all work on creating bus lanes on the Keynsham bypass.”
His campaign against the proposals included a statement made to the WECA overview and scrutiny panel on January 27, where he repeated his view that the overall scheme for the Bristol-Bath strategic corridor represented poor value for money.
Cllr Hounsell said that proposed bus lanes were a particularly unpopular element of the scheme during canvassing ahead of the recent Saltford by-election.
He said: “The resistance on the doorstep to bus lanes was palpable. This confirms the public opposition to the proposals.”
George Leach, B&NES Liberal Democrat councillor for Keynsham North, said: “I’m delighted that the hard work from local councillors has eventually paid off and welcome the fact that common-sense has finally prevailed.”
He added: “Despite an earlier attempt from WECA to push ahead, ignoring the overwhelming negative public feedback to the last consultation, I’m pleased that these absurd proposals have finally been dropped.
“Whoever wins the upcoming WECA election in May, I look forward to better engagement with local representatives so we can work for the benefit of our residents in a sensible manner.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Sarah Warren B&NES Council deputy leader and cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable transport, has written an open letter to Metro Mayor Dan Norris.
She said she was astonished to learn of the suspension of the bus lane proposals through Helen Godwin’s Facebook post.
“It is a little over a week since the last WECA Committee meeting, which would surely have been the appropriate forum for a discussion about this suspension with your partners in the unitary authorities, and for a joint announcement of such a significant decision for the A4, impacting the whole region.”
She added: “I have asked your officers numerous times over the last year to engage with local people and councillors about the A4 scheme, and to produce the modelling evidence that would demonstrate whether or not your proposed bus lanes on the Keynsham bypass would have the local impacts on the network that residents fear.
“Your staff are unable to produce the modelling – it does not exist. And now, again without evidence either way, you have single-handedly taken a chaotic decision to suspend the scheme, wasting the millions that have been spent on it to date.
“I write today demanding clarity. Residents deserve to know what is left of plans to enhance sustainable travel along this important axis for the region, and whether other elements of the A4 scheme are still going ahead, including:
* The much-wanted safe, segregated cycle route proposed for the Keynsham A4 bypass, which you high-handedly and prematurely took the decision last summer to remove.
* The opportunity for a local Keynsham connection via a hub on the bypass to the direct X39 Bristol-Bath bus service – when access to the direct bus route should be the right of a town of Keynsham’s size.
“The abrupt withdrawal of the Keynsham A4 bus lane scheme, as well as the inappropriate way in which this announcement was made, will surely have further damaged WECA’s reputation with both residents and the national government.”
Keynsham bypass bus lanes plans suspended
