Bollard rules in Northern Ireland

Who decides about bollards on public land in Northern Ireland?

In Northern Ireland the Department for Infrastructure (DfI Roads) is the roads authority for public roads and footways. Under Article 71 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993, erecting a structure on a road — including an object that could obstruct it — is an offence without the Department's consent or another lawful authority, and Article 78 makes breaking up a road surface an offence without consent or a street works licence.

So bollards on public footways need DfI Roads consent first; councils are not the roads authority. On private land, the owner's agreement is what matters.

Do bollards on private land need planning permission in Northern Ireland?

Since 2015 the eleven councils are the local planning authorities. Northern Ireland has its own permitted development order; for listed buildings, conservation areas and prominent frontages, check with the council's planning team before installing.

How far apart, how tall, and how visible?

Inclusive Mobility, the Department for Transport's accessibility guidance, recommends bollards at least 1,000 mm high with tonal and colour-contrasted tops, and says they shouldn't be linked with chains or ropes. Where bollards act as a vehicle security barrier, gaps should be no more than 1,200 mm; Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/11 measures that maximum 600 mm above finished ground and treats it as wide enough for wheelchairs and prams.

Cycle-route and fire-access figures in Northern Ireland come from its own guidance — for fire and rescue access, Technical Booklet E and the local fire and rescue service. As an English comparison only: Active Travel England asks for at least 1.5 m clearance on cycle routes, and one fire and rescue service guidance summary gives a 3.1 m minimum gateway width on fire appliance routes. Whatever the nation, posts across a fire appliance route must keep the required clear width or be removable or retractable by the fire service.

The Equality Act 2010 does not apply in Northern Ireland; disability discrimination law there is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Equality Commission NI). Construction work is under CDM (NI) 2016, notified to HSENI.

What do crash ratings mean?

Vehicle security barriers, including crash-rated bollards, are now rated to ISO 22343-1:2023, with ISO 22343-2 covering selection, installation and use. According to Secured by Design, ISO 22343-1 supersedes PAS 68 and IWA 14-1, but products already tested to those standards remain acceptable, and NPSA's list of impact-rated products still lists products rated to PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ISO 22343-1.

A rating records the test vehicle's mass and class, the impact speed, the angle and how far the vehicle penetrated past the barrier. It applies to the product as tested — including its foundation. Change the foundation, the spacing or the fixing and the rating no longer tells you what the bollard will stop.

PAS 170-1 is a separate low-speed trolley test for single bollards (a 2,500 kg trolley at 16 or 32 km/h), aimed at car parks and shopfronts; it is not equivalent to a full vehicle test. Products tested only to the US ASTM F3016 low-speed method should not be described as HVM-rated.

We install specified rated products to the manufacturer's tested foundation. We don't design hostile vehicle mitigation schemes: NPSA recommends choosing barriers against a security operational requirement, with advice from a Counter Terrorism Security Adviser, a Register of Security Engineers and Specialists (RSES) member or a Chartered Security Professional.

Does Martyn's Law mean we need bollards?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — Martyn's Law — received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 and applies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Its main duties are not yet in force; the SIA, the regulator, expects the Act to come into force in spring 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed.

Standard-tier premises (200–799 people at once) must notify the SIA and have public protection procedures; the Home Office factsheet says the Act does not require physical alterations or specific equipment. Enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events (800 or more) must also have appropriate public protection measures so far as reasonably practicable — the enhanced duty factsheet gives hostile vehicle mitigation as an example of a physical measure, but does not mandate it.

So Martyn's Law does not require bollards. It may lead larger venues to consider them, and that assessment belongs with a qualified security adviser.

What about digging and site safety?

Before digging, plan the work, locate and identify buried services, and excavate safely. HSENI regulates in Northern Ireland; HSE's HSG47, written for Great Britain, sets out the same principles as good practice: plans alone aren't enough, services should be traced with a locator, marked and confirmed with trial holes, and power tools kept 500 mm or more from a located service where practicable. Utility plan searches help but their coverage in Northern Ireland should be checked.

Construction work is covered by CDM (NI) 2016, which mirrors the GB rules: commercial clients have specific duties, and on homeowners' work those duties pass to the contractor.

Are there extra rules for automatic bollards?

Automatic rising bollards are powered equipment that can injure people and damage vehicles if they rise at the wrong moment. Traffic Advisory Leaflet 4/97 (Rising bollards) advises signs showing when bollards operate and who may pass, retroreflective stripes, detection that copes with motorcycles and trailers, never rising beneath a vehicle, failing safe (ideally retracted) and an override for the emergency services. The Door and Hardware Federation published a best-practice guide for automated rising bollards in 2024.

Machinery supply law in Northern Ireland follows EU rules under the Windsor Framework, with the EU Machinery Regulation applying from 20 January 2027. Whether a given rising-bollard installation counts as 'machinery put into service' is a question for the manufacturer and installer, so we agree at quote stage who provides the Declaration of Conformity, instructions and commissioning record.

Sources checked 1 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check with the relevant authority before relying on it.