Anti-terrorist bollards for high-risk areas in Hereford

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 17:30

By Gavin McEwan - Local Democracy Reporter

Over £200,000 will shortly be spent on bollards to make Hereford’s historic heart safer from terrorist attack, particularly during events.

Herefordshire Council said its aim is to reduce the risk of vehicle-borne attacks, “whether from errant vehicles or those acts motivated by terrorism aims”.

The measures “will ensure the safety of city users with an onus on those gathered for events”, given such attacks in European cities, it added.

It has commissioned West Midlands construction firm Speller Metcalfe to install an unspecified number of “fixed, removable and lowering/rising bollards at key city gateways”, at a cost of £202,830.

Under what the council calls a “tight delivery schedule”, the bollards will need to be installed and paid for by end of March.

A further £192,647 available for more “hostile vehicle mitigation” measures, from the £6-million Hereford city centre improvement (HCCI) fund, jointly paid for by the council and the soon-to-be-wound-up Marches local enterprise partnership.

The move follows a “threat, vulnerability and risk assessment” of the city’s historic core carried out by the council in February 2021.

This found the High Town, St Peter’s Street and Commercial Street area as having “the highest attractiveness as a target” given its high number of pedestrians.

Bewell Street and Eign Gate were meanwhile rated as at lower risk, due to existing bollards and street furniture.