Travel and transport

Proposals for an Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order in York

We held a Statutory Consultation on Proposals for an Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) in York.

City of York Council is the Highways Authority for the roads and pavements in most of York. This means that if anyone, for example the police, or a utility company, wants to use our roads or change how they can be used, they need permission from us.

Where the proposed changes are permanent, the council must hold a statutory consultation to consider the views of residents and businesses before making a decision.

The permanent ATTRO that North Yorkshire Police have recommended would change who can use the highways and roads in certain situations, which is why we held the consultation.

The Consultation closed on 13 May 2026.

Purpose of an ATTRO

An ATTRO helps keep people safe from the threat of terrorism.

Other cities in the UK already have an ATTRO or are considering them. ATTROs allow the police, working with councils, to restrict access and put protective security measures in place. These measures will help reduce the risk and possible impacts of terrorist attacks on or near a road.

ATTROs can be temporary (for a specific event) or permanent. A temporary ATTRO can be recommended by the police at any time, for the purpose of avoiding or reducing the risk of danger connected with terrorism. The council then needs to consider the recommendation and decide whether to implement an ATTRO and what access restrictions and protective measures should be put in place. This needs to be done for each temporary ATTRO.

A permanent ATTRO allows the council to react immediately to a recommendation from the police, rather than waiting for a temporary order to be processed. It is inactive for most of the time. It is only activated, once recommended by the police, when intelligence or events require the risk of a terrorist attack to be mitigated by restricting access to an area.

Request for an ATTRO in York

The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police has formally written to City of York Council to recommend that a permanent ATTRO is put in place to cover the city centre area.

The area covered is shown on the map of areas covered by the ATTRO. The order itself would be made by the traffic authority - City of York Council in this instance.

When the ATTRO would be used

Under the proposed permanent ATTRO, there are 2 ways the ATTRO could be activated:

  1. Based on information, threats, security assessments and intelligence showing that there is a threat of danger or damage due to terrorism.
  2. If an incident occurs which is linked to terrorism or shows that there is a threat of danger or damage due to terrorism.

In these cases, a North Yorkshire Police officer of the rank of Superintendent or above can request for the ATTRO to be activated.

If the proposed permanent ATTRO is agreed, it will set out the requirements and processes to be followed by North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council. This would also support a faster response if the ATTRO needs to be activated quickly.

What will happen when the ATTRO is activated

If approved, the proposed permanent ATTRO would sit in place as a permanent order. It will only be activated for temporary periods, where appropriate and in line with strict rules, which are:

  1. Access, including to vehicles, cycles, and pedestrians (depending on the risk/incident), will only be restricted to the minimum number of roads necessary to remove or reduce the risk/danger.
  2. Access will only be restricted to the extent needed to remove or reduce the risk/danger.
  3. Access will only be restricted for the minimum period necessary to remove or reduce the risk/danger.
  4. In no circumstances will access be restricted for a continuous period longer than 48 hours without the prior approval of the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Executive of City of York Council (or their nominated deputy).

Closing the roads to restrict access could only happen if the police have sound reasons - which may be due to a security assessment or intelligence of a likelihood of danger or risk of damage due to terrorism. It cannot be used for any other reason.

Wherever possible, at least 7 days’ notice of the access restrictions to be implemented would be given, allowing the council to notify those likely to be affected by the restrictions. This would include Blue Badge holders, residents and businesses within the area. Due to the nature of terrorism, it may not always be possible for that much notice to be given.

If the roads need to be closed, this would be likely to include the city’s Blue Badge holder access and exit points.

These safeguards ensure that the activation of the ATTRO is a proportionate measure, used to the minimum extent necessary in order to deal with danger or the likelihood of danger connected to terrorism.

The ATTRO could only be used in relation to the specific threat of terrorism or to deal with a terrorist incident.

Areas covered by the ATTRO

Shown on the downloadable map is:

  • the proposed area for the permanent ATTRO is highlighted with a red line
  • the existing footstreets zone is shown in orange
  • the Blue Badge holder vehicle access and exit points are shown with black triangles and labels

The area included in the permanent ATTRO recommendation from the police extends beyond the pedestrian area which is already covered by the permanent Hostile Vehicle Measures (HVM).

The proposal includes the adopted highways of:

  • College Street
  • Deangate
  • Duncombe Place
  • High Petergate
  • Minster Gates
  • Minster Yard
  • Precentors Court
  • The Queen's Path

North Yorkshire Police have proposed to extend the ATTRO area beyond the existing HVM to help protect the York Minster, which is designated as a ‘Tier 1’ site. This means it is on the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure for Cultural heritage. The area around the Minster has previously received three requests from North Yorkshire Police for temporary ATTROs.

There may be additional changes to access should the area of the ATTRO includes roads outside of the existing HVM. The ATTRO can only be activated under strict rules. If it is approved and activated, it could mean additional access restrictions being put in place and temporary physical barriers being placed across roads in the area beyond that already covered by the permanent HVM to stop access.

Payment for any costs

When an ATTRO is required, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 enables the council to recharge the costs associated with the ATTRO to the event organisers or the occupier of the premises for which the ATTRO is required, for example costs for:

  • additional barriers
  • notices or signage
  • traffic management
  • marshals

This applies to the costs associated with temporary and permanent ATTROs.

The council cannot recharge these costs if the event is a public procession or assembly, for example:

  • a demonstration
  • a gathering to publicise a cause or campaign, or to commemorate an event

In these cases we will need to fund the costs associated with activating the ATTRO.

Further supporting information

You can download the:

Other useful information

You can find out more information about ATTROs:

You can also read the full report from June 2025’s Executive here:

We have recently published a new report which you can read here under section 207:

It gives an update about how partners are working to identify and implement mitigation measures.

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