A temporary security fence will be installed for the first time in Birmingham for the Conservative Party’s annual autumn conference.
Zaun Ltd, which has supplied temporary fencing to the main parties’ conferences for some years, has developed a light version of its Rapid Deployable System (RDS).
The fence manufacturer will also supply two CCTV bases – one with a narrow-view camera and the other with a wide-view – so as to reduce further the number of officers needed to police such events. According to the Wolverhampton-based firm its RDS saves up to 90 per cent of police time. The Home Office has bought 5500 metres of it, including access portals, turnstiles and gates, to add to the National Barrier Asset.
The new RDS Lite employs recycled plastic blocks for anchoring the fence line in favour of the concrete blocks that help to give its parent RDS system a PAS 68 rating. The makers stack ten 15kg recycled plastic blocks in a 2×5 configuration into two purpose-built 15kg brackets, held together by four long tubular pins, to anchor each fence post.
The company adds that blocks can be carried up and down stairs and onto canal footpaths, which would have been impossible with the 750kg concrete blocks that are placed into position by a forklift truck for RDS.
This follows a request from the official Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) to develop temporary crowd perimeter products that can be carried by hand and deployed in places that fork lift trucks cannot access and where structural restrictions on weight loading exist.
RDS Lite was mob-tested (pictured) last month at Zaun’s West Midlands factory, attended by CPNI representatives, and will be trialled on canal footpaths in Birmingham at the Conservative conference – its fourth in seven years in the city with up to 14,000 delegates expected to attend.
Zaun founder and director Alastair Henman said: ‘RDS was already unique in providing hostile vehicle mitigation up to 30mph in a rapidly-deployed temporary fencing solution with no below ground foundations. We integrated advanced electronics and top end CCTV as an add-on to existing security arrangements to help better cover specific strategic positions on the perimeter. This latest version of our celebrated RDS literally lifts temporary high security perimeter protection to new heights.’
Party conference season
In autumn 2012, Zaun installed its RDS for the first time at party conferences, becoming a double award winner at the Counter Terror Expo Excellence Awards. A year later, Zaun incorporated the latest Video Content Analysis system using Pan Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) cameras into RDS as an aid to remote policing when the Conservatives gathered in Manchester.
About Zaun Limited
With regional offices in France and Dubai, Zaun offers a range of temporary, PAS68 and permanent fencing besides expertise in integrating CCTV and PID systems. Zaun was founded in 1996 by directors Alastair Henman and Paul Painter and remains a privately owned company, manufacturing in the UK in the West Midlands.
Zaun manufactures to ISO 9001:2008 standards and is a member of the ethical supply chain initiative, Sedex. It is also a member of the Perimeter Security Suppliers’ Association (PSSA), the Fencing Contractors’ Association (FCA) – with Alastair Henman a director and council member of these organisations respectively – and the Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA).
Web: www.zaun.co.uk.
