Budget Amendments for Better Roads and Faster Fly Tipping Removal
Bristol’s Liberal Democrat Councillors have submitted a series of budget amendments to the City Council’s forthcoming budget set to be debated today (12th February 2026), pushing for better roads and faster fly tipping removal.
The first budget amendment seeks to reallocate the £8m tied to the now-cancelled Park Street bus gate project, spending £2.5m across road repairs, cleaner signs, and new on-street electric chargers. The remainder of the money would be returned to the pot for the city’s Transport and Connectivity Committee to reassign to other projects and uses.
The second Liberal Democrat amendment seeks to bring forward planned expenditure on road repairs for 2027/28 to the forthcoming budget. The funding is part of the planned spend of the council’s Clean Air Zone revenue.
Finally, the third seeks to use redundant reserves to further expand the Council’s fly tip removal resources and to move towards a 48-hour removal target.
Cllr Jos Clark (Liberal Democrat, Brislington West), Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said:
“The Park Street project was a half-baked scheme that risked shifting traffic, and thus pollution, onto the already busy road right in front of the BRI and Children’s Hospital. This was simply an unacceptable trade-off for an unpopular scheme.
“Our amendment reallocates the eye-watering £8m of Clean Air Zone money earmarked for this project on things that Bristolians actually want to see. We are seeking to spend £1.5m on additional road repairs, including resurfacing and potholes, to improve conditions for buses and cyclists. To ensure roadside directions are clear and visible, we are looking to boost spending on road sign maintenance by £500,000, to clean up graffiti and dirt. And to ensure that electric vehicles can be accessible to all, we are calling for £500,000 of investment in additional on-street electric chargers.”
Cllr Caroline Gooch (Liberal Democrat, Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze) said:
“It’s no secret that Bristol’s roads are in a shocking state. The Council plans to spend over £1m from the Clean Air Zone revenue on road repairs in 2026/27 and again 2027/28. We are calling to bring this spending forwards so that over £2m is allocated for road repair next year.
“This will give the Council the resources it needs to get out and really make an improvement to the quality of our roads this coming year.“
Cllr Tim Kent (Liberal Democrat, Hengrove and Whitchurch Park) said:
“Our amendment seeks to add an additional £134,000 to our fly tip removal capability. With this increase in capacity, we are calling for all Council departments to have a 48-hour target for the removal of fly tipping across all types of land.
“Currently, Bristol Waste only has a 72-hour target for fly tipping on highways – not on other types of council land. The distinguishing between different types of land can lead to the Council bizarrely and neglectfully not collecting fly tipping from housing department land for months.
“With this investment into our fly tipping service, we want to see fly tipping removed within 48-hours across all council-owned land – including council housing and our parks.”
