With the elevated threat of vehicle-borne terror attacks, coupled with the rise in criminal ram raids and the number of accidental collisions between cars and pedestrians in retail parks, more designers and specifiers working in the sector are seeking measures to provide adequate protection.
Traditionally, this was viewed as a necessary evil and as such, little consideration was given to how security products looked and fit in with the surrounding area. Often the result was utilitarian, obstructive measures such as concrete blocks, which can still be found outside entrances to shopping centres up and down the UK.
At Marshalls Landscape Protection, we take a different approach, designing and building aesthetic street furniture products that fit seamlessly with the landscape of a retail park. Not only does this avoid creating an ugly street scene, but it ensures shoppers aren’t continually made aware of the risk that exists.
We’ve developed three categories of products – defend, deflect and deter – which we use to provide our retail customers with the levels of protection they need, while ensuring it blends into their space.
Defend
For the main entrances to shopping centres, our protective street furniture enables our clients to create a far subtler and more visually appealing line of defence than concrete blocks.
Each of our products, which range from planters and seating to litter bins, are crash-tested to the latest accreditations for bollards and barriers to assist in terror prevention - International Workshop Agreement (IWA) 14. At their strongest specification, a single piece of our street furniture can stop a 7.5-tonne lorry travelling at 50 mph.
Deflect
For areas of less risk where vehicles would only be able to impact at speeds of up to 20mph, we have a range of bollards certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 170 which can be used to deflect a car or van. These are often used to protect glass shop fronts and ATM machines from criminal ram-raids and provide the proof of performance that previously specified anti-ram solutions couldn’t deliver.
Deter
We also design and build products that can be installed either on the perimeter of the entrance and on the edges of the car park. They give would-be-attackers and criminals the impression that a ‘buffer-zone’ has been created and that the space within is well protected. Our wide range of street furniture, telescopic bollards, post and rail systems and planters enables restricted vehicle access and guide pedestrian flow.
We’re increasingly finding that by considering protective measures in these three steps, our customers are able to better secure their sites while ensuring shoppers aren’t made to feel uncomfortable or under threat.
To learn more about our protective street furniture, you can download our brochure. Our team are also available on 0370 600 2425 to advise you on how we can secure your project.