Bradford goes after shops with anti-crime shutters

Bradford Council has published a new guide for shopkeepers which says that external solid roller shutters will generally not be accepted.

The guidance quotes West Yorkshire Police as saying that solid roller shutters “deaden a street scene” and raise the fear of crime.

The new guidance says: “External solid shutters hide shop fronts and window displays, and reduce light to the pavements, thus creating a deadening, unwelcoming and neglected effect on the high street.

“These effects present and unfriendly appearance and can create a perception of an unsafe environment on the high street.

“External roller shutters are also easy targets for graffiti, which can add to the detrimental impact on the street scene.”

The advice concludes that 
external roller shutters are “unlikely to be acceptable in all circumstances” on shop fronts in Bradford.

The proposals – which are out for consultation – suggest that the council will support the use of the following internal security measures:

• Laminated security glass.

• Anti-shatter film and frame strengthening.

• Internal lattice and brick bond grilles, set back one metre from the window, where possible.

The guidance says that if a retailer can demonstrate that internal security measures are not suitable, three alternative external security measures could be suitable for shops outside of conservation areas.

These are:

• External lattice grilles.

• External brick bond grilles.

• External open chain link grilles.

The rules will be stricter for retail premises in conservation areas and for listed buildings.

There will be a “general presumption” against the use of external security measures to the main fronts of shops in these protected areas.

The council says it will support the use of internal security measures in these areas “if they respect the character of the host property and do not have a detrimental impact upon the character of the conservation area and/or the listed building”.

The proposals will be discussed by members of the council’s executive board at a meeting next Tuesday.

A report to the committee says that the guidance favoured retailers fitting laminated security glass and, if necessary, internal security grilles.

If an applicant can then demonstrate that these measures would be inadequate “the use of external security grilles will be considered. The use of any external security measures in conservation areas and listed buildings will be considered unacceptable.”

Retailers are being asked to comment on the new guidelines.

Val Summerscales, secretary of the Bradford Chamber of Trade, said some Bradford retailers who had put up external shutters had been unfairly “pursued” by the planning department.

She said retailers had shutters installed as a “last resort” to combat vandals and thieves.

The alternative, she said, was smashed windows followed by wooden boards going up, sometimes for months.

She said the council had issued similar guidance in the past and had asked for the views of retailers.

“We get fed up of the local authority,” she added. “In the past they have not listened to what the businesses have had to say on this.

“Shops do not put up shutters through choice.

“The number of break-ins and the constraints of insurance cover suggests the need for these shutters.

“There should be discretion for vulnerable types of business.

“Some of our business members feel that Bradford Council has not given the flexibility in previous guidelines.”