SAFETY & SECURITY 89 Sensitive to urban safety
New legislation in the form of Martyn’s Law means that organisations which operate venues and locations where people gather will have a duty to prevent terrorist attacks. Mark Stone from Securiscape discusses the architect’s role in the UK’s ongoing campaign to keep the population safe
S
ix years on from the devastating bomb attack which killed 22 people attending an Ariana Grande concert
at Manchester Arena, the law regarding ways to make venues safer has taken another step forward. Named Martyn’s Law after one of the victims of the arena bombing, Martyn Hett, the ruling has reached draft legislation stage, a step that was marked recently at the Crisis Management in High Rise and Complex Buildings event on May 18. The legislation, which will become the
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, is being introduced in order to place the burden of making venues – where members of the public gather – safe on its owners and operators, in the same way that they need to take responsibility for fire safety and health and safety.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill The new Bill, which is expected to be introduced next spring, and which will affect venues including shopping centres, stadiums, music venues, bars and public spaces, will change this.
It will introduce a three-tier system and a range of requirements for operators and local authorities encompassing everything from training security staff to better spot potential terrorists before they launch their deadly attacks, to ensuring staff are wearing body cams.
The emphasis will also be on processes rather than ‘bollards and gates,’ but venues will still need to consider creating a first line of defence by installing equipment and products that will prevent a potential terrorist reaching the area where people are gathered in the first place, requiring them to work in conjunction with security advisors to assess their premises and identify possible vulnerabilities.
ADF JULY/AUGUST 2023
The architect’s role This is where architects come in, because of the need for the function to fit the form. While defences can take many forms – such as concrete blocks or rows of bollards – their task will be to ensure that whatever perimeter security is applied does not detract from their overall design or make the exterior of the building resemble a fortress.
They will need to consider how a potential terrorist attack might be mounted in the first place – whether by a lone individual travelling on foot or in a vehicle – and imagine the route they might take, their ability to climb over or dodge past defences in order to reach their target. And they need to know which products are capable of mounting a defence if called into action – what constitutes a reasonable performance and how to know whether an installation that might look good is suitable for helping to save lives.
It is most likely architects will need to include defences in the design that can
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The new Bill, which is expected to be introduced next spring, and will affect venues including shopping centres, stadiums, music venues, bars and public spaces, will change this
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