Giving ‘ordinary citizens a voice’

A group of residents with “no axe to grind” will help the council to tackle Bath’s thorny transport issues.

Cllr Matt Mccabe said the citizens’ panel will give a voice to ordinary people over the lobby groups who often dominate the conversation.

It will help Bath and North East Somerset Council determine the best route from the city centre up to the University of Bath, the balance of “pain and gain” from new infrastructure, and the level of support for technology like e-bikes.

The council and the University of Bath have stumped up £30,000 to bring in insight consultants Britain Thinks to establish the panel and hear its views.

Cllr Mccabe, the cabinet assistant for planning and sustainable transport, said: “The citizens’ panel’s focus is on the routes between the city centre and the university, thinking about active travel.

“The other thing I’d like to see from the panel is a steer on how we should approach all the hills in Bath and what our priorities should be. Do we put the climate emergency before the impact on citizens? Where is that balance to be found?

“Putting in cycling infrastructure, the residents who find it appearing outside their house have all the pain and it’s the residents who live further out who get all the gain from safer cycling.

“We’re looking to the panel for where we should put that balance between the pain and the gain.”

The council has long been trying to improve walking and cycling links between the city centre and the university’s Claverton Down campus but controversial plans for North Road were shelved last year after a backlash.

Council leader Kevin Guy has previously defended the use of citizens’ panels and denied that the cabinet was abdicating responsibility.

He argued that allowing residents to help make decisions was “democracy in action”.

Britain Thinks will select panel members based on factors including their age, socioeconomic group, housing tenure, ethnicity and disability to achieve a broad representation of the population across Bath and North East Somerset. It will also consider their preferred mode of transport.

Cllr Mccabe added: “They’re people who have no axe to grind. They’re not angling for one thing or another. They’re just citizens.

“We’re just after the panel’s views. They will make suggestions and we will look at them.

“I don’t think it’s about putting power into a small group of people, it’s about making sure we hear from ordinary people.

“Lobby groups, whether they’re pro-car or pro-bicycle, shout very loudly. Sometimes it’s very hard to hear ordinary people. People need to trust what comes out of it.

“If they think a bunch of people have been planted, either by politicians or lobby groups, they won’t trust the output. “We have to let the experts get on with it. We’re trying to remain very hands-off. We’re letting Britain Thinks and the university take the lead in setting this up, because the output needs to have some kind of academic rigour.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of it. It’s a very new way of doing local democracy.”

It’s about making sure we hear from ordinary people. Lobby groups shout very loudly. Sometimes it’s very hard to hear ordinary people. Cllr Matt Mccabe, pictured