Agenda item

The Corporate Director of Economy & Place to present a report which asks Executive to take decisions that will progress the implementation of measures to mitigate the risks and impact of a hostile vehicle attack in the city centre and on the public highway at the racecourse.

Note: Annex F to this item has not been included in the agenda pack but is available to view online.

Resolved:  (i)      That the update provided in the report and its annexes, including the traffic monitoring and findings from stakeholder engagement events and the objections to making the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order permanent, be noted.

(ii)      That, following consideration of the objections, approval be given to make permanent the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, whereby the city centre will be closed to all traffic, except emergency vehicles and those with essential permission, during the footstreet hours, which currently are normally 10:30 am to 5:00 pm.

(iii)     That officers be authorised to progress the process of advertising and changing the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) exemptions to create a new permit for emergency and essential permissions to the city centre under a single heading of permit holders.

(iv)    That the findings from the various disabled groups, as indicated in Annex B to the report (with further details of the engagement process and results in Annex F), be implemented, and that further reviews be undertaken as to any improvements to disabled access and disabled parking between city centre car parks and the footstreets area that would further mitigate the impact of implementing the TRO.

(v)     That the design of the new bollard following consultation with conservation groups, as shown in Annex G, be noted.

(vi)    That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Transport, Highways and Environment to carry out the procurement and installation of non-moving bollards at the end of Parliament Street at the earliest opportunity.

(vii)    That the council work with the Counter Terrorism Unit to review the temporary measures for Christmas 2019.

(viii)   That officers be requested to commence a procurement exercise for a supplier to procure and install the hostile vehicle rated measures in the city centre.

(ix)    That officers be requested to commence the procurement of permanent measures at the Racecourse Road / Knavesmire Road junction, these to be in conjunction with measures to be implemented and operated by York Racecourse to manage access on race days.

(x)     That details of the cost of the installation, operation and maintenance of the permanent measures be brought back to the Executive.

(xi)    That the council work with the Police, consultants and other blue light services to finalise the operational protocols for providing emergency vehicular access to the city centre during the footstreets hours.

(xii)    That the council continue to work with York Minster to review security arrangements and use the opportunity offered by their Neighbourhood Plan to propose alternatives to the current temporary hostile vehicle mitigation measures around the Minster area, known as Phase 2.

(xiii)   That it be noted that:

a)   the Counter Terrorism Unit will continue to advise the council;

b)   the council will need to introduce essential measures and review them on a regular basis;

c)   the My City Centre consultation, which is the subject of the previous item on this agenda, will give residents the opportunity to comment on future use of the city centre, including the security and accessibility of any future proposals that come forward.

Reasons:   (i)      To respond to the advice given by North Yorkshire Police and the Counter Terrorism Unit to protect York’s areas of high footfall against the ‘vehicle as a weapon’ (VAW) threat, through the provision of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures.

                   (ii)      To ensure that measures are implemented to mitigate as best as possible the effect of the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures on blue badge holders, in view of the outcome of disabled group workshops and direct correspondence.

The Assistant Director of Transport, Highways & Environment presented a report which sought approval for actions to progress the implementation of measures to mitigate the risks and impact of a hostile vehicle attack in the city centre and on the public highway at the racecourse.  Sean Tunstall, of the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, was in attendance to give an overview of the national situation with regard to potential terrorism targets.

In accordance with the decisions made by Executive on 27 September 2018 (Minute 47 of that meeting refers), an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETO) covering the area shown in Annex A to the report (Phase 1) had been implemented on 5 November 2018 and further consultation had been undertaken with stakeholders, in particular disabled residents and Blue Badge holders.  No formal objections to the scheme had been received but access concerns had been raised, and measures proposed to mitigate these were contained in Annexes B and C.  Approval was now sought to make the ETO permanent and to procure permanent hostile vehicle mitigation measures at the Racecourse Road / Knavesmire Road junction.  Officers were working with York Minster to ensure the inclusion of similar measures in the Masterplan for the Minster area.

Members welcomed the proposals as an important first step towards ensuring the safety of the city centre in the context of the national security situation.

Resolved:  (i)      That the update provided in the report and its annexes, including the traffic monitoring and findings from stakeholder engagement events and the objections to making the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order permanent, be noted.

(ii)      That, following consideration of the objections, approval be given to make permanent the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, whereby the city centre will be closed to all traffic, except emergency vehicles and those with essential permission, during the footstreet hours, which currently are normally 10:30 am to 5:00 pm.

(iii)     That officers be authorised to progress the process of advertising and changing the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) exemptions to create a new permit for emergency and essential permissions to the city centre under a single heading of permit holders.

(iv)    That the findings from the various disabled groups, as indicated in Annex B to the report (with further details of the engagement process and results in Annex F), be implemented, and that further reviews be undertaken as to any improvements to disabled access and disabled parking between city centre car parks and the footstreets area that would further mitigate the impact of implementing the TRO.

(v)     That the design of the new bollard following consultation with conservation groups, as shown in Annex G, be noted.

(vi)    That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Transport, Highways and Environment to carry out the procurement and installation of non-moving bollards at the end of Parliament Street at the earliest opportunity.

(vii)    That the council work with the Counter Terrorism Unit to review the temporary measures for Christmas 2019.

(viii)   That officers be requested to commence a procurement exercise for a supplier to procure and install the hostile vehicle rated measures in the city centre.

(ix)    That officers be requested to commence the procurement of permanent measures at the Racecourse Road / Knavesmire Road junction, these to be in conjunction with measures to be implemented and operated by York Racecourse to manage access on race days.

(x)     That details of the cost of the installation, operation and maintenance of the permanent measures be brought back to the Executive.

(xi)    That the council work with the Police, consultants and other blue light services to finalise the operational protocols for providing emergency vehicular access to the city centre during the footstreets hours.

(xii)    That the council continue to work with York Minster to review security arrangements and use the opportunity offered by their Neighbourhood Plan to propose alternatives to the current temporary hostile vehicle mitigation measures around the Minster area, known as Phase 2.

(xiii)   That it be noted that:

a)   the Counter Terrorism Unit will continue to advise the council;

b)   the council will need to introduce essential measures and review them on a regular basis;

c)   the My City Centre consultation, which is the subject of the previous item on this agenda, will give residents the opportunity to comment on future use of the city centre, including the security and accessibility of any future proposals that come forward.

Reasons:   (i)      To respond to the advice given by North Yorkshire Police and the Counter Terrorism Unit to protect York’s areas of high footfall against the ‘vehicle as a weapon’ (VAW) threat, through the provision of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures.

                   (ii)      To ensure that measures are implemented to mitigate as best as possible the effect of the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures on blue badge holders, in view of the outcome of disabled group workshops and direct correspondence.