Bath "Ring of Steel" inquiry set to begin
Evidence will be heard at the Guildhall today for and against the closure of York Street
Last updated 26th Apr 2022
A public inquiry will take place today, to decide whether a street in Bath can be closed to vehicles for 12 hours every day.
Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council wants to shut York Street near Bath Abbey from 10am to 10pm daily, largely for anti-terror reasons.
But one objection to the plans, from a local business owner, means an independent inquiry must settle the argument.
It is due to begin at 10am this morning (April 26) in the Brunswick Room at the Guildhall.
Ring of Steel
If approved, much of the 12 hour closure would form part of Bath's so called Ring of Steel, whereby the centre of Bath is shut off to vehicles during the day to prevent potential terror attacks where vehicles are used as weapons.
The Anti-Terror Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) sees streets including Stall Street, Abbeygate Street and Westgate Street as well as York Street, sealed off by barriers from 10am until 6pm, with only blue badge holders allowed access during that time.
With York Street specifically, the council also wants the road shut from 6pm to 10pm "for the purpose of preventing danger and avoiding danger to persons or other traffic using the road".
The Inquiry
In a document published on BANES Council's website ahead of the inquiry the objector, Hannah Downey, says she is against the plans because she "will not have reasonable access" to her property.
"Throughout our ownership access has been eroded away, this proposal will cut it off for good," she writes.
"It (the Ring of Steel) fundamentally changes the city centre, defining it as being solely a business district and inhibits the residential community that used to co-exist."
She also states that she has no ability to park nearby, would have to carry heavy goods in and out "over an unreasonably long distance" and arranging access for tradespeople or deliveries "is prohibitive and unreasonable".
Within the document she goes on to say she felt pressured by the council last year to drop her objection, after receiving a phone call from the chief executive of the council, Will Godfrey.
"I now felt bullied," she writes.
"I was being pressured to stand aside to allow the council to implement their scheme with no guarantee that they would resolve my genuine concerns."
She, however, is the only business owner in the area to have upheld an objection to the plans.
In another document published on the council's website Michael Potts, who co-owns Mrs Potts Chocolate House on York Street, says there has been "a significant improvement" in the area since the road was first closed to traffic.
"This is seen in the improvement in our sales figures when the street furniture was allowed on York St and subsequent drop when they have been removed," he writes.
"I fully support the TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) and am available for comment if required."
Timothy Coffey has also pledged his support.
He runs two businesses on York Street: The Real Italian Pizza Company and The Real Italian Ice Cream Company.
In a letter to the council published online, he admits he has "suffered the inconvenience" of not being able to get a vehicle close to his businesses.
He goes on however, to say he has benefitted from being able to put seating in the street and that "the health and safety factor of having the street closed far outweighs any of this (the negatives)."
"Just recently, whilst talking to someone in the street, I saw a 4 or 5 year old child running around the square and then continuing onto the currently closed York Street," he writes.
"If this road was open that child could have ran straight behind a reversing delivery vehicle."
Mr Coffey goes on to say he thinks restrictions from 10am to midnight would work best, which would be even longer than what the council is currently suggesting and to which Ms Downey objects.
The council, the police and the public
When contacted by us yesterday (April 25) BANES Council said they could not comment on Ms Downey's statements or on the inquiry in general, but arguing in favour of the Ring of Steel previously, the council leadership has said it is needed to protect people from potential attack.
Opposition councillors though are less keen, with the Conservative group previously saying the Liberal Democrat administration, "has turned a welcoming city into a no-go zone for residents.”
Avon and Somerset Police have stressed the need, in their view, for the measures.
One document, written by counter terrorism officer Martin Rowland for the inquiry, says Bath, "presents an attractive target to self-initiated terrorists seeking to use a low sophistication attack."
"York Street was identified as having a high footfall at peak times," he says.
"If it did not form part of the wider ATTRO scheme then it would lead to an increased vulnerability and undermine the scheme’s integrity."
We are told there is no intelligence to suggest Bath specifically is under threat, merely that it could be a potential target.
It follows several terror attacks in Europe where vehicles have been driven into crowds, including in Nice in 2016, where 86 people were killed when a 19-tonne truck was driven into people celebrating Bastille Day.
A similar attack that same year saw 12 people die when a lorry was driven into a Christmas market in Berlin.
Online, there are lots of comments about the Ring of Steel suggesting it is a waste of money and will not stop and attack, but when recently out in Bath, almost everyone we spoke to was broadly in favour of the anti-terror measures being taken.
Fred told us he lives locally.
"I haven't finally made up my mind as to what I think," he said.
"In principle it's a good thing to stop terrorists using vehicles as weapons obviously."
Mary lives just outside the city.
"Personally I think that they (the barriers) are a great idea," she said.
"If anything like that is going to stop terrorists getting through...then I'm all for it.
"Safety of people and lives should really override all that (business concerns) in my book."
Clive is 65, was born in Bath and has lived in the city his whole life.
"In this day and age I think it's a necessary evil," he said.
"In the wake of everything that's been going on nationally, internationally, it's a sad sign of the times."
Clive did add though, that he thinks the bollards are very "ugly" and could be improved visually.
Many others spoke to us but asked not to be recorded, and only one of those was against the plans.
Others, including some business owners, told us they had never even heard about the anti-terror proposals.
You can read more about the inquiry, which is only scheduled to last one day, here.