219 of the 261 people who answered the council's survey on the Royal Victoria Park cycle lane objected. It was approved anyway, and work runs to mid-March.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has approved a segregated cycle lane through Royal Victoria Park, even though more than four in five people who responded to its consultation objected. Of 261 people who gave a view on the lane, 219 objected or partly objected. Only 42 supported it in full or in part.
The figures are in the council’s own decision report on the cycle lane order. The order was signed off on 22 September. It came into operation on 5 October, and the council says work in the park starts this autumn.
What is being built
The lane runs against the one-way traffic, from the Park Lane entrance in the north west, down the access road and along the park’s southern carriageway to the Victoria obelisk. It is marked with green surfacing and separated from the road by flexible “tulip” wands, according to the council’s Weston to city centre project page.
The wider scheme also includes:
- heritage-style lighting through the south-west of the park
- four raised pedestrian crossings in the south-west section, and a raised crossing at the top of the north-west access lane
- a new raised zebra crossing on Park Lane
- resurfaced pavements
- six more disabled bays by the play park, taking the south side to 12
Cars keep their one-way access from Park Lane. The council’s press release on the decision says the work should be finished by mid-March, ahead of the Bath Half. It is paid for from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, through the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
What the consultation said
The statutory consultation ran from 30 July to 27 August. It was split into four separate traffic orders, and the cycle lane drew by far the strongest reaction.
| Order | Responses | Support or partly support | Object or partly object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle lane (26-052A) | 261 | 42 | 219 |
| Parking changes (26-052C) | 105 | 19 | 85 |
| Raised crossings (26-052D) | 36 | 18 | 18 |
| Park Lane zebra (26-052B) | 28 | 14 | 13 |
One person on the parking order, and one on the zebra crossing, said they were neutral. Some people answered more than one order, so the rows cannot be added together.
Objectors to the cycle lane could tick more than one reason. Parking was ticked by 149 of the 199 outright objectors. Access came next with 79, then safety with 76, cost with 70 and traffic with 59.
The free-text comments were grouped into themes by council officers. The most common were:
- the benefits go to a few cyclists while the downsides affect many people (101 mentions)
- other routes already exist, or other cycle facilities go unused (97)
- cyclists can already ride on the park roads or the diagonal path (93)
- the scheme is a waste of money (60)
- cyclists may not stop for people on foot (45)
- cyclists will ride too fast (37)
- children may run into the lane (23)
This is not the first time the park section has met resistance. In the council’s first consultation, over the winter of 2024 and 2025, 59% of respondents did not support the Royal Victoria Park proposals, the cycle lane report says. Losing car access through the north-west lane was one of the main concerns then, and the approved plans keep it.
Why the council went ahead
Officers answered each theme in turn. On the existing routes, they said cyclists “are currently unable to legally and safely cycle out of the park via the north west gate”, because of the one-way system. They said the diagonal path is narrow, shared with walkers and poor for cycling in the wet. They pointed to baseline surveys in early 2026 that they said show high numbers of people walking and cycling in the park.
On cost, they said the transport money “must be spent specifically on strategic transport schemes”. It could not be used for the pond, the play parks or potholes. The lane was also checked by an independent road safety audit, and the council says it will keep monitoring it after it opens.
Chris Major, the council’s Director for Place Management, made the decision. He wrote that whether to go ahead was “a matter of broad judgement, taking into account the wider transport and climate aims of the Council rather than a purely mathematical analysis on the numbers of positive or negative responses.”
Councillor Lucy Hodge, the cabinet member for sustainable transport delivery, said in the report that she supported the lane. The two ward councillors, George Tomlin and Paul Roper, are recorded as making no comment.
What it means for you
- If you park in the park: parking goes from the west side of the north-west access lane and the north side of the southern carriageway. The council says about 62% of short-stay parking inside the park stays. Counting the roughly 74 new short-stay bays on Weston Road, where the first hour is free, capacity will be about 87% of today’s, according to the parking order report. Our parking in Bath page has the city’s other car parks.
- If you cycle: you will be able to ride south-east along the south side of the park, and leave legally through the Park Lane gate, once the work is done. The lane stops at the obelisk, where the road becomes two-way.
- If you walk or take children to the play park: the crossings over the road and lane will be raised to pavement level. The council says the raised crossings will slow cyclists and drivers so people can cross.
- During the work: the council has not yet published dates or a phasing plan. It says the park stays open, though some entrances and pavements may be swapped for temporary routes, and that phasing will be planned around big events. Bath on Ice opens in the park on 20 November. Our roadworks page will carry any closures once they are announced.
The decision on all four orders has been taken, so the consultation is closed. Questions about the scheme go to the project team at BWWCL@bathnes.gov.uk or on 01225 394025.
Have your say