Bollards

What are the regulations around installing bollards in front of storefronts?

The Waipā District Public Places Bylaw 2018 prohibits the installation of any structures in public spaces – including bollards – without written authorisation from Council. Council has to balance the use of public land for store security against the needs of the public to use the footpath and minimise the number of obstructions that could make access difficult for people with mobility or vision impairments. Council also has to avoid placing structures that interfere with the reasonable use of road space for utility services like water, power, gas, telecommunications and electricity.

Council is sympathetic to property and store owners who have been repeatedly targeted by ram raiders and acknowledges that this type of behaviour is escalating. However, each situation is different and so we need to consider each application individually.

Before authorising bollards in the public footpath, we ask business and property owners to assess the risk to their specific business and property. Only particular types of stores seem to be targeted, so not every store front needs protection from this type of criminal activity. If the premises is believed to be at risk, we then ask owners to first consider:

• Bollards or similar protection within the property itself so they do not affect the public space or any services within that space
• Adapting the store front to make it less vulnerable to ram raids (eg. creating a solid concrete base to the store front, about 1m tall to protect against a standard vehicle) – Council staff are happy to discuss the options available

While these options may seem more costly, the difficulty of relocating any buried services can make the cost and complexity of installing bollards in the public footpath prohibitively expensive.

If there is a high risk of this type of damage to a store, and these other options have been explored and ruled out, Council may grant authorisation for bollards to be installed in the public space, with the property owner responsible for meeting all costs. The owner would be expected to sign a Licence to Occupy agreement and pay the associated fee.

Alternatively, permission may be granted to install a steel rail, hard against the building boundary (similar to those installed by Stirling Sports and Noel Leeming in Te Awamutu). This would be less intrusive and would probably not require a Licence to Occupy.

Whether Council approves bollards or a steel rail, Council requires the applicant to:

• Complete and sign an application form, which can be submitted at one of our front counters or emailed to info@waipadc.govt.nz
• Work with an engineer/builder who can locate and protect any buried services against the front of the building
• Ensure the majority of post/rail manufacture is done off site, to minimise welding, cutting, noise etc on site
• Obtain a work access or excavation permit from Council (use the online application link below) and present a pedestrian safety plan/traffic safety plan showing how the work will be done safely
  • (Often lifting in pieces of steel and main fixing is done outside business hours to minimise disruption and reduce safety issues. It is then also easier to park work vehicles close to the site)
  • Link to the corridor access request site
• Employ a skilled cobblestone laying contractor to cut cobblestones and reinstate around the works if the installation will disturb the footpath cobblestones. All finished surfaces must match into the surrounding area