HVM at Godiva

These Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Methods were effectively used at the Coventry Festival

Event Support Team were delighted to be selected to be the provider of Road Closure services and to implement Hostile Vehicle Mitigation barriers for Godiva Festival 2023 in Coventry. 

One of the West Midlands biggest Festivals, Godiva saw 70,000 people descend on War Memorial Park to see Spice Girl legend Melanie C, The Enemy and Rudimental. 

We operated a road closure around the car park entrance to help with a smooth ingress and egress of vehicle traffic to the site as well as implementing a ‘residents only’ parking scheme with a Temporary Traffic Reduction Order. This was similar to the ones we organised at Tramlines to further reduce both local traffic in the area and prevent nuisance parking. As a result of these, five vehicles were removed despite extensive signage and words of advice to the vehicle owners.

Like many events, Godiva are already taking heed of the upcoming Protect Duty Legislation (Also known as Martyn’s Law) to ensure their event is safe from a vehicle borne attack. To further increase the security of the venue, in company with our partner CrowdGuard we implemented a number of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Solutions. Following a threat, vulnerability and risk assessment (TVRA) – The Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Plan included two Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Solutions .

The first of which was ATG Surface Guard deployed outside the main entrance to protect queuing visitors. Not only is this equipment a Counter Terror Awards Winner – it looks non-menacing and welcoming to pedestrians whilst also providing excellent protection. As the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation at Godiva’s main entrance conflicted with a blue route, It was important for the Hostile Mitigation Solutions to be easily removed if emergency vehicle access was required. With this in mind, we stationed two team members on position all weekend to ensure we could clear the area and remove the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures if required. 

The second set of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation equipment deployed were multiple sets of the RB50. These were deployed at production entrances to the festival. The RB50 is a mobile and modular system. The HVM equipment was wheeled into position and then deployed to prevent unauthorised or hostile vehicles from gaining entry. This particular equipment will dig into the ground if impacted and rotate up into the underbelly of the vehicle causing immediate and immobilising damage, thereafter security and emergency services can deal with the isolated hostile person. 

Further to this, Our Team members with Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) Credentials implemented dynamic road closures to help the egress of traffic and pedestrians from the site.