Papers relating to proposed anti-terror measures have been published ahead of City of York Council’s Executive Meeting on Wednesday 9 September.
At that meeting, Executive Councillors will discuss the proposed introduction of an Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) for York city centre. The reports set out how the proposals have been developed, and the results of the statutory consultation undertaken in 2026.
If the proposed permanent ATTRO is approved at the Executive meeting, it would lie dormant for the majority of the time and would only be activated when the threat level meets the required thresholds.
An ATTRO is a special legal order that allows the police to recommend that a local authority put restrictions in place to close off specific streets and roads to vehicles and pedestrians. It is designed to protect people from the threat of terrorism on or near a road. An ATTRO can only be put in place by a local authority when recommended by the police for the purposes of “avoiding or reducing, or reducing the likelihood of, danger connected with terrorism” or "preventing or reducing damage connected with terrorism” (as defined by Section 22C of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984). An ATTRO cannot be used for any other reason.
Temporary ATTROS have been used several times already in York city centre, with each one going through a seven-step process.
If approved, a permanent ATTRO would enable all partners to work together to establish a jointly agreed decision-making framework to enable streamlined decisions to be made on the level of restrictions and/or protective measures required based on national threat levels, intelligence, event risk profiles, etc. This would also include an assessment of the impact of the restrictions on groups with protected characteristics under the Equality Act and potential options for mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the restrictions, depending on the circumstance and level of risk. This type of framework is in place in other cities where a permanent ATTRO has been implemented.
The papers published today also set out the responses to the statutory consultation and feedback on each issue raised. Concerns included questions around individual access for residents and businesses within the proposed ATTRO area should the ATTRO be activated; others said they did not feel removing vehicles would stop a terrorist attack.
If put in place, the whole geographical ATTRO area would not necessarily be implemented; it can be implemented over a selected area. Outside of the times and area of any activated ATTRO situation, Blue Badge and deliveries access will be maintained and managed in the existing process.
On 9 September, Executive Councillors will be asked to consider the following recommendations:
- Consider the representations received during the statutory consultation;
- Approve the making of the permanent ATTRO (as per the draft order provided in Annex C);
- Delegate the decision to activate the permanent ATTRO on the receipt of a Police recommendation to do so to the Chief Executive of the Council;
- Approve the development and implementation of an agreed decision-making framework for the permanent ATTRO’s activation with the Chief Executive of the Council working in conjunction with the Leader of the Council and relevant Executive Councillors.