Crowdguard provides HVM to perform vital CT role at Edinburgh’s iconic Festivals

Attracting around five million people to the city, to watch an estimated five and a half thousand shows during the month of August, the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe are two of the biggest events in the city’s calendar. The festivals are a huge boost to the Scottish capital’s tourism economy, and also a security and counter terrorism risk that needs to be managed effectively with appropriate and proportionate HVM.

With a proven track record of providing expert advice and an efficient plan, provide, protect service to the City of Edinburgh Council, including HVM provision for last year’s festive season events programme, Crowdguard was asked to provide the HVM for the summer festivals too.

Working closely with the council, the police and counter terrorism security advisors, to install proportionate hostile vehicle mitigation in six locations, aligned to the clients risk assessment, we deployed a mix of proven HVM systems, to enable pedestrian permeability in some locations, and allow blue light and authorised vehicular access in others.

At Cockburn Street, we installed the ATG Access Surface Guard system, in a deployment that included vehicle access units to enable rapid vehicular access for authorised and emergency vehicles on an as needed basis.

Meanwhile, at three locations along High Street and Blair Street, we deployed six fully-branded Highway Care Security Claw HVM units. The drop-and-go HVM system was deployed with branded vinyls, adding to the party atmosphere in the city for the festivals.

Finally, the Crowdguard team also installed four arrays of RB50, using the moveable HVM barrier system to protect road closures on Hanover Street and Frederick Street. Thanks to the manoeuvrability of RB50, the HVM protection could be moved aside in seconds for emergency and authorised access.

As part of the three-week deployment, the Crowdguard team not only installed all the HVM systems to our strict quality assurance processes, but also trained local operatives to ensure safe and effective management of the counter terrorism equipment throughout the arts festival period. The Crowdguard team then returned to the city once the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe were over to de-rig all equipment within a single day as the city returned to normal.

Claire Miller from the City of Edinburgh Council commented: “Having worked with Crowdguard on a number of occasions, we know we can trust them to specify proportionate HVM measures. At the Festival and the Fringe, that means we’re able to keep people safe as they enjoy all that the city and the festivals have to offer, while benefiting from practical approach to our crowd management and operational needs.

“Crowdguard brings considerable expertise and a collaborative mindset to working with us, along with an efficient deployment that helps the city prepare for the influx of visitors and get back to normal as soon as the events are over.”