Delivering commercial benefits and event protection at Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre

The Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre celebrated its 20th year last year, and Crowdguard was there to deliver protection against vehicle as a weapon attacks and vehicle incursions to help keep people safe while they enjoyed all the fun of the fayre.

Established in 1992, the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre attracts visitors from far and wide, as well as local residents. Based in the historic city’s picturesque New Street and Friar Street areas, the event combines traditional Christmas markets with a range of entertainment and Victorian themed characters to create a festive occasion with something for all the family.

Worcester City Council is keen to ensure that the annual event is safe and secure for everyone, including visitors, traders and entertainers, and has

partnered with Crowdguard with a three year contract for hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) for the event. Our remit involves efficient and quality assured deployment of the ATG Surface Guard HVM system and Rosehill Security Rapid Defender vehicle security barrier (VSB) system at 11 strategic locations around the public realm locations where the Fayre is based.

Last year, the City Council also wanted to leverage any opportunities to boost business for local retailers as part of their event security strategy, and we were able to assist by customising the ATG Surface Guard modules located outside local jeweller, David Christopher. The pedestrian permeable HVM protection close to the David Christopher store not only included branding for the retailer, advertising a special offer, it also included a QR code that people could scan to access a code for the offer online. In this way, the retailer was able to track the effectiveness of the HVM advertising and reported that 18% of sales during the ATG Surface Guard deployment were thanks to response to the advertising and QR code.

Crowdguard’s approach to hostile vehicle mitigation is always to specify and deploy the most appropriate HVM system, aligned to the identified risk, operational factors and available budget. At Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre, combining Rapid Defender and ATG Surface Guard enables people to move around freely, while providing rapid access for emergency vehicles should it be required and effective protection from vehicles. Response rates to the David Christopher advertising also demonstrates that HVM protection can also deliver tangible commercial benefits for local businesses, enabling them to promote their business during periods of increased footfall.

Michelle Newell, City Centre Manager at Worcester City Council commented: “Keeping people safe while they enjoy all the city has to offer over the Christmas period is important to Worcester City Council. Crowdguard looks after the hostile vehicle mitigation for our Victorian Christmas Fayre each year, providing ATG Surface Guard and the Rapid Defender vehicle security barrier to 11 locations around the city, which means we have more than 200 metres of HVM equipment protecting people and businesses in Worcester during this busy period. They have also worked with us to benefit local businesses, customising the ATG Surface Guard outside a high street jeweller with advertising.”