The cost of installing controversial anti-terrorism measures in York city centre has spiralled to nearly £3.5m.
An extra £1.75m needs to be taken from next year’s highways budget to pay for sliding and fixed bollards aimed at preventing hostile vehicle attacks – such as those seen in Nice and London – in the city’s footstreets area.
The increased cost of steel and concrete, along with general inflation in the UK economy, has been blamed for the hike.
And they won’t be in place this Christmas – instead work won’t start until the New Year, meaning York will have to pay another £72K for temporary security over the festive season.
Labour leader Cllr Claire Douglas called it a “breath-taking display of incompetence”.
Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden said: “Through installing these permanent protection measures, the council’s duty and priority has to be the safety of everyone.”
Ruling councillors approved the measures in January after deciding in November 2021 to remove as many vehicles as possible from the pedestrianised zone – including blue badge holders.
City safety ‘absolute priority’
North Yorkshire Police and Counter Terrorism Police have advised City of York Council that not having proactive measures is “an unacceptable risk”.
The government is also working on new legislation which will place requirements on councils and venues to protect busy footfall areas from the threat of terror attacks.
York disability campaigners have consistenly argued that removing the exemption that allowed blue badge holders to park in the foostreets is discriminatory. The council has admitted that some people will be excluded from the city centre as a result of the measures.
North Yorkshire Police acting Chief Inspector Andrew Godfrey said: “It is sadly a fact of life that terrorists can strike at any time and any place without warning, both here in the UK, and around the world.
“It will always be our absolute priority to keep our city safe and so we welcome the introduction of any security measures that will help us to do that.”
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A letter to the council from a counter-terror security adviser this month said the measures were “evidence based and proportionate to the current threat.”
Cllr Douglas said: “The Lib Dem led council says these measures are urgent for public safety reasons, yet they’ve taken several years to actually take a decision to install them, leading to costs escalating by almost £2m.
“To pay for these discriminatory measures, the Lib Dem council will plunder the budget over the next few years for maintaining and repairing roads across our city, meaning road standards will fall even further.”
Council deputy leader and executive member for transport Cllr Andy D’Agirne said the authority had been “working to ensure protective measures are in place as soon as possible.”
“By installing a visible deterrent and a physical barrier to hostile vehicles, we are following expert advice which is in line with proposed legislation for local authorities responsible for roads, squares and pedestrianised areas,” he added.
The council’s executive committee will consider a report on the latest developments on Thursday (18 August).