More Bristolians may be able to walk to work in future as the local authority looks at creating work spaces in local communities.
City mayor Marvin Rees spoke about the idea at a government select committee inquiry into air quality yesterday (November 3).
Mr Rees told MPs Bristol City Council was investigating creating neighbourhood “hubs” so people could work closer to home rather than having to travel further afield to earn a living.
He said the move would be one way to encourage people not to return to their old habits of driving into work once the coronavirus pandemic was over.
Mr Rees had been asked by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee to what extent he thought people’s behaviour - in terms of home working and driving instead of using public transport - would return to normal once the pandemic was over.
Traffic levels in Bristol fell by up to 85 per cent during lockdown, and air pollution plummeted by up to 72 per cent, Mr Rees said.
He said people’s ability to work from home depended on a number of things, including whether people had a home at all and whether it was big enough for a spare room.
“If we build houses with that capacity for people to work from home then we’ll support that,” he said.
“We also will be looking at putting hubs around the city as well so people... might not be in their home but they’ll be in their local community without the need to travel into the middle of Bristol.”
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A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the council would use existing public buildings, but that there were no more details about the proposed work hubs at this stage.
Mr Rees told the select committee successful home working also depended on people having the right digital means and employers managing their staff in a way that protected their mental health.
The select committee is revisiting its 2018 Improving Air Quality report and whether the Government’s 2019 Air Quality Strategy and the Environment Bill will deliver the national leadership necessary to deliver the “step change” in how air pollution is tackled in the UK.
