Plans to introduce permanent measures to improve the safety of pedestrians on highways around key sporting venues in West Bridgford will be considered by Nottinghamshire County Council.
Its Communities and Place Committee will discuss the proposals to install permanent precautionary traffic bollards and protective features around Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and will consider similar safety measures around Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and Nottingham Forest Football Club are already planning on putting in place a range of their own safety measures, working closely with their respective safety advisory groups.
However, routes and areas outside the ground don’t normally fall within the responsibility of ground management.
In these cases, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority advises that a co-ordinated approach should be used with input from all agencies that do have responsibility for those areas.
The county council has been working closely with the police, Nottinghamshire CCC, Nottingham Forest, landowners and Via East Midlands on the proposals and the safety features will be located on and near pavement areas where large numbers of people are expected. They will be designed to allow easy pedestrian access.
Committee vice-chairman, councillor John Handley, who covers community safety, said: “Events at these sporting venues generate huge pedestrian traffic and, at times, congestion on the pavements in the surrounding area.
“International cricket matches can attract up to 17,000 spectators several times a year and the City Ground sees gates of over 20,000 for home games.
“The proposed permanent bollards and protective features around Trent Bridge will help with crowd control and serve the same purpose as the temporary barriers which were installed outside the ground in July this year.
“Once installed, the proposed safety features – and the measures implemented by the grounds themselves – will provide a significant boost to pedestrian safety at two of Nottinghamshire’s most iconic places.”
The total cost for the scheme is estimated to be in the region of £850,000, which is subject to final agreement by the council’s Finance and Major Contracts Committee. If agreed, work will start in the new year.