Criticism continues over Thornbury High Street changes

Council leader Toby Savage said: “We want Thornbury High Street to be the vibrant beating heart of the community"

A council leader has been criticised for pressing ahead with controversial plans to reduce high street traffic.

Thornbury high street was temporarily closed to traffic during the pandemic to adhere to Covid guidelines.

Council leader Toby Savage told BBC Radio Bristol something had to be done to renew the high street's appeal in the face of stiff online competition.

The show's presenter John Darvall said: "There is universal hatred for what you're doing," by making it permanent.

The West of England Metro Mayor initially vowed to block the councillor's request for cash to make the reduced traffic changes permanent because of concerns about public consultation.

When his initial funding request from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) was rejected, Mr Savage sought £4.6m from the West of England joint committee, which is outside of WECA's funding remit.

Campaigners were incensed when his request was approved, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Toby Savage said: "I recognise it’s a controversial scheme locally and that there are strong views on all sides"

The plans involve reducing through-traffic, widening path ways, increasing cycle parking and improving seating, planting and wayfinding.

Mr Savage responded to listeners of the radio show after they accused him of "ruining Thornbury" and turning it into a "ghost town".

He said: "We have to work with all of our high streets to help them overcome the challenges they face.

"Those challenges existed pre-Covid.

"We were already seeing a significant move to online shopping, people were finding less of a reason to want to visit their local high street, and Covid has, whether we like it or not, accelerated a number of those trends we were seeing before."

"Online shopping is now much more significant than it was just a couple of years ago," he added.

The work is expected to begin in July and is due to be completed by October 2023.