The publication of the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill in May, and the recent Select Committee report on the draft bill mean that progress on Martyn’s Law is finally being made. The proposed legislation’s high profile is prompting those responsible for publicly accessible locations (PALs) that were previously taking a wait and see approach to counter terrorism planning to start preparing for when the protect duty becomes a legal obligation.

There is still uncertainty as to whether Martyn’s Law will become legislation in its current form, or undergo further changes in response to the Select Committee’s findings. One thing is certain, however; there is increased awareness about the nature of the terror threat, the vulnerability of venues and events to vehicle attacks, and the need to protect people and places in a way that is both proportionate and affordable.

For many venues and locations, temporary HVM protection, such as our RB50 and Claw systems, deployed by our events partner, Crowdguard, are the most appropriate and cost effective solution for each event, but this can prove difficult to manage from a cost certainty point of view, because the number of events in the calendar may not be known when budgets are being set.

For some PALs, where the threat is consistent – due to a consistent event format and access and egress arrangements, for example – a semi-permanent or permanent installation may be the most cost-effective and convenient approach to protecting against hostile vehicles and vehicle incursions. Where this is the case, we recommend our SecureGuard system, which can be installed to provide ‘ring of steel’ protection.

Often installed at transport hubs and larger venues where there is a need to mitigate the risk of vehicles driving into pedestrians as they queue or gather, SecureGuard is a versatile system that can be deployed as an extensive ring of steel, or in short lengths to protect specific vulnerable locations. A high-performance perimeter protection system, it immobilises vehicles, protecting pedestrians or other motorists from harm. The system can be installed close to an adjacent to road because it is proven as a road barrier as well as a security barrier.

Available as a portable system to enable reconfiguration where required, or as permanent system, SecureGuard is installed with shallow anchoring. It is a space-efficient system, with a narrow footprint, which not only maximises the useable space at the installation location as compared to fencing or many HVM  systems but can be mounted to the existing pavement, saving on installation costs.

The system’s shallow mount foundation enables installation with minimal anchoring, with the ability to increase resilience and strengthen defences as required, depending on the nature of the threat, vulnerability and risk, by adding steel cables and ancillaries to the rear of the barrier. SecureGuard 20, 30 and 50 systems are all rated to a combination of IWA 14-1:2013, PAS 68:2010, PAS 68:2007 or PAS 68:2005, protecting against vehicles of up to 7,500 kg travelling at speeds of 20 – 50mph.

To complement the SecureGuard 20 or 30 systems, Highway Care Security also provides the SecureGuard Portal 30 system, allowing controlled pedestrian access, without compromising the ring of steel protection. These surface mounted, free-standing steel portals can be lifted into place and installed on soft ground if necessary. They offer a low maintenance, fully galvanised solution, with a modular, anti-tamper design and a 1.2m clear gap for controlled and managed pedestrian and disabled access.