Council invests £800,000 to keep city centre safe
On the advice of counter-terrorism police, Canterbury City Council’s engineers have been working hard in the background to implement a scheme designed to stop a hostile vehicle entering the pedestrianised centre of the city.
A system of automated, manually retractable and static bollards will be installed by the summer to provide a security cordon that blends in with the existing environment, the conservation area and listed buildings.
It aims to keep the public safe while helping to keep the city’s welcoming atmosphere and ensuring businesses can operate normally.
Canterbury City Council Chief Executive, Colin Carmichael, said: “There is no specific intelligence which says Canterbury is at risk but we need to take sensible precautions to ensure we keep everyone as safe as possible.
“Being a historic city and home to the cathedral, Canterbury has a large number of challenges relating to its narrow streets, the volume of visitors, areas of archaeological importance and a high density of pipes belonging to the utility companies under the ground.
“Our experts have carried out ground-penetrating radar surveys to accurately find buried services, to ensure the proposed bollard locations are suitable and to minimise any disruption to businesses in the city. Installation work will cause some inconvenience but we will try and keep this to a minimum.
"Helpfully, Kent County Council waived its usual charges for making changes to its highways.”
Published: 30 January 2019