The organisers of an award-winning outdoor Christmas event took a further step to ensure it passed off peacefully by taking delivery of 18 of our IWA-14 rated SecuriPod temporary HVM street security barriers. Lancaster on Ice, which attracted an estimated 70,000 people to the city last month, installed the devices to block off three entrances to the city’s Dalton Square to protect the crowds heading to the event to enjoy some pre-Christmas fun.
The event’s organisers picked up the Large Visitors Event of the Year Award at last year’s Lancashire Tourism Awards following 2018’s event, which offered a festive mix of ice skating, a big wheel, refreshments tipi and a Christmas market.
More attractions were put in place this time round and our SecuriPods, decorated with Christmas trees, played their part by creating a barrier to ensure no unauthorised vehicles could spoil the fun by driving onto the square when it was full of people.
Consisting of a steel framework surrounded by a tough recycled polypropylene outer casing, the SecuriPods are capable of bringing a 7.5 tonne truck travelling at 30mph to a controlled stop without blocking the road of pedestrians, people with pushchairs and wheelchair or mobility scooter users.
That level of performance has earned them the IWA-14 rating – the highest there is – and all without the use of concrete, which makes them relatively light and, as a result, easy and cost-efficient to deliver and easy to move if an emergency vehicle requires access.
They can also be installed and removed in a matter of minutes.
Mark Stone, managing director of Securiscape, said: “Being asked to supply SecuriPods for an event such as Lancaster on Ice was a real feather in our cap.
“It has become widespread practice to use security barriers to seal off roads, but often the feelgood factor of events has been compromised by the ugly nature of the measures that are being used, such as concrete blocks.
“That is not the case with our SecuriPods, which are not only smart and unobtrusive, they can also be used for branding purposes to help set the scene.”
Chris Selkirk, director of event organisers Sustainable Festivals, said: “We were really happy with the supply of the SecuriPods, which enhanced public safety for the six week-long event.
“In particular, it was great how they could be dressed with planters and we placed Christmas trees on top of the pods at the entrance ways to make them more appealing to visitors.”
