One of the UK’s leading racecourses has combined cutting-edge race-day security with regional pride after it became the latest venue to beef up its safety measures with a product from Securiscape.
York Racecourse originally contacted us in mid-February, asking us to supply hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) guardrail to separate a temporary car park from the area where racegoers gather before entering the course, close to one of its main entrances.
Previously, the car park was protected by a wooden fence which had not only seen better days, but also no longer met the racecourse’s security needs and was having to be bolstered by temporary anti-vehicle blocks.
Our guardrail would replace the wood and the blocks at the same time, but the brief called for more than pure function – the racecourse wanted form too.
In particular, it wanted the guardrail finished in black to match the ironwork found across the historic Knavesmire site and asked for every single panel to carry a hand-painted white Yorkshire rose, tying the new security measure into the course’s regional identity.
We were only too happy to oblige by powder-coating the full run of guardrail in black before finishing each Yorkshire rose motif by hand.
In total, 70 metres of guardrail was installed, a job which took two of our installers four days to complete, using 120 bags of postcrete.
The guardrail is drawn from our HVM Guardrail range and is engineered to combine the everyday appearance of standard pedestrian railings with genuine vehicle-stopping capability.
In fact, in tests it stopped a 2.5-tonne pick-up truck travelling at 30mph, earning it the coveted IWA-14 international rating.
Not only that, but it can be supplied and fitted within weeks, allowing venues, schools, bridges or public buildings to be protected quickly without lengthy delays to wider programmes of work.
Mark Stone, managing director of Securiscape, said: “This was the second time our products have been installed at a Yorkshire racecourse after our Securipods helped keep the crowds safe at Doncaster’s Betfred St Leger Festival.
“This time, the racecourse wanted something permanent but also decorative, and that’s just the kind of job we love to take on.
“Security measures don’t have to be mundane and nor should they detract from the atmosphere at public events. Instead, they can add to the occasion by becoming a part of the brand experience, as York Racecourse’s guardrail demonstrates.”
Securiscape’s mission is protecting people in public places, and our work began when Mark started designing our first products in the wake of the 2007 attack at Glasgow International Airport.
We design, manufacture and install a range of HVM products tested to standards including PAS 68 and IWA 14, and our range includes our own patented street planters, HVM bollards, Glide Bollards and guardrail systems.
