Ambulances were prevented from attending an incident in Bath on Saturday after a “moving” bollard installed by the council failed and blocked the road.
The ambulances trying to access Cheap Street | Photo © Bath Echo
The sliding bollard on Cheap Street failed to move on Saturday 23rd December, as first reported by the Bath Echo, leaving at least two ambulances unable to reach an incident in the city centre.
Reports suggest other emergency vehicles may also have been impacted.
A spokesperson for Bath & North East Somerset Council, who decided to install the bollards, said: “We are very concerned that the moving bollards in Cheap Street failed yesterday morning.
“We acted very quickly to get them back in working order. We are investigating why this happened to ensure this does not happen again.
“Ambulance crews chose to go by foot as the best option for their response as they do during events or when accessing Southgate.
“The bollards are monitored at all times and we apologise for their failure yesterday.”
A call handler at the council told the Bath Echo at the time that the bollards were “completely locked”. They said: “We’re unable to open, close, or do anything with them.”
The road was closed for months while the bollards were installed as part of the city centre security zone.
Dubbed the “ring of steel” by critics, the zone aims to prevent vehicle-based terror attacks in Bath’s busy city centre. The bollards close the street between 10am and 6pm but are supposed to slide open to allow some vehicles such as blue badge holders and emergency vehicles to access the city centre.
Sliding bollards were used instead of bollards that retract into the ground due to the complexities of the various vaults and pipes underneath the streets in the historic city centre.
Similar bollards are in place on York Street and Hot Bath Street and are set to be installed on Upper Borough Walls in the new year.
It is not the first time the sliding bollards have failed since being installed. In November a sliding bollard on York Street became stuck after an electrical error in the control box. The council said it was rectified as soon as possible.
The bollards and security zone had once been expected to cost £2.1m but costs ballooned to £7.4m in February.
The increase was partially the result of inflation, but the council said a “considerable expense” had come from making the bollards moveable.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
