Bollards to stop terror attacks on York city centre set to go ahead
Counter-terror experts have said the measures need to be brought in to stop ‘vehicle as weapon attacks’
Anti-terrorist bollards look set to be installed permanently in York city centre this year.
The city’s temporary security barriers, which have been in place since the 2021 Christmas market, drew criticism for being unattractive and for making the city inaccessible for disabled people.
They will be replaced by a mixture of fixed and sliding bollards, which will allow access to certain types of vehicles at certain times.
Counter-terror experts have said the measures need to be brought in to stop vehicles being used as weapons, but York’s disability campaign groups are hitting out against the permanent installation of the bollards.
Alison Hume, the co-founder of York Accessibility Action, said:
"For over 18 months disabled people have been excluded from the centre of York with no reasonable adjustments. The council are making a decision which they believe effects a minority, but it’s a very, very sizeable minority. Not only that, it’s a breach of human rights.
"A quarter of all York residents have a family member with a disability, so that gives you an idea of how many people are impacted."
Ms Hume also said that the new measures are tainting York’s reputation.
"What the councillors have done has brought a lot of unwanted attention on York for all the wrong reasons. We want to be a welcoming city and we feel that people who live here are embarrassed by the reputation that we’re getting."
The project is predicted to cost around £1.8m, with £500k coming from unallocated highways funding.