Sector

Bollards for venues and crowded places

Vehicle protection for stadium approaches, event spaces, places of worship and busy public spaces.

Row of heavy black steel anti-ram security bollards along the granite-paved entrance plaza of a glass city-centre office

Computer-generated image

What venues and crowded places need from bollards

Where crowds gather — stadium approaches, arenas, shopping streets, places of worship, markets — a vehicle driven into people is the risk that protective security planning tries to design out. Permanent bollards, often crash-rated, are one of the main measures.

We install permanent vehicle security barriers specified by the venue's security adviser or the manufacturer, to their tested foundation designs. For venues assessing their duties under new counter-terrorism legislation, we can explain what physical measures involve, but the assessment of what is needed should come from a qualified security adviser.

Typical requirements

Crash-rated permanent bollards on approaches
Removable or automatic posts for event and emergency access
Shallow-mount systems over busy services
Heritage finishes for places of worship
Phased installation around events
Servicing of automatic systems before peak season

Things to check

Rated performance only applies when the product is installed exactly to its tested foundation and spacing.
Gaps between posts must stop vehicles but let pedestrians, wheelchairs and emergency teams through.
Planning and highway consents may be needed on public land; schemes often run through the local authority.
Agree maintenance and key holding before handover.

Venues and crowded places: questions

Do we have to install bollards under new counter-terrorism law?

The legislation focuses on procedures and, for larger venues, on measures that are reasonably practicable; it does not simply require every venue to fit bollards. A qualified security adviser should assess what is proportionate for your site.

What makes a bollard 'crash-rated'?

It has been impact-tested to a recognised standard with a stated vehicle mass and speed, and the result records how far the vehicle penetrated. The rating only holds if the product is installed as tested.

Can bollards be installed around our event calendar?

Yes. We phase work between events and leave the site safe and open at the end of each shift.