Security bollards for commercial sites
Stop unauthorised vehicles without giving up the space. We supply, install and maintain automatic and manual bollards for car parks, loading bays, pedestrian areas and retail frontages, linked to your access control where you need it.
- Local engineers
- Access control integration
- Free site visit and quotation
At a glance
- Based in
- Huntingdon
- Covering
- Cambridgeshire and East Anglia
- Bollards
- Automatic electro-hydraulic and manual
- Control
- Card, keypad, proximity reader, induction loop or remote
- Services
- Supply, installation and maintenance
- Maintenance
- Full check twice a year as standard
Overview
Automatic and manual bollards across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia
BDi Advance supplies, installs and maintains security bollards for commercial sites across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. Manual and automatic bollards suit smaller businesses and retail units where space is limited but protection against ram-raiding is essential. Automatic bollards control vehicle access to pedestrian areas, car parks and loading bays, lowering into the ground to let authorised vehicles through. They can be linked to your access control and can work alongside ANPR cameras.
- Local engineers based in Huntingdon, covering Cambridgeshire and East Anglia
- Automatic electro-hydraulic bollards, and manual bollards in permanent or temporary positions
- Opened by card, keypad, proximity reader, induction loop, push button or remote control
- Linked to your access control, and able to work alongside ANPR cameras
- A lower-cost alternative to road blockers where a disappearing ground device is needed
- Maintenance contracts with a full check twice a year as standard
Quotations start with a free site visit. Call 01223 566 599 or send us your details and we will get one booked.

Costs
What affects the cost of security bollards?
Every entrance is different, so a survey comes before any price. These six factors make the biggest difference to what bollards cost.
Automatic or manual
Biggest factor
Manual bollards cost least. Automatic electro-hydraulic bollards add the drive, controls and power supply, and suit entrances that open many times a day.
Number of bollards
Site specific
Each bollard adds equipment, groundwork and installation time. How many you need depends on the width of the entrance and the vehicles you need to stop.
Groundworks
Varies
Automatic bollards are set into the ground, so excavation, drainage, ducting and any buried services at the entrance affect the cost. We check these at the survey.
Access control and ANPR
If required
Card readers, keypads, proximity readers, induction loops and remote controls are chosen to suit who uses the entrance. Bollards can also work alongside ANPR cameras at the same entrance.
Safety features and finish
Optional
Optional extras such as flashing lights add safety. Bollards are available in colour-coded enamel paint finishes or a standard galvanised steel finish.
Maintenance
Ongoing
Automatic bollards are exposed to all weathers and heavy use. A maintenance contract includes a full check twice a year as standard to keep them working reliably.


Automatic bollards
Automatic bollards for vehicle access control
An automatic bollard is a steel post that rises out of the ground to close a vehicle route and lowers flush with the surface to let authorised vehicles through. The electro-hydraulic bollards we supply are available up to a height of 900 millimetres, raise or lower in 3 seconds and are capable of over 1,000 movements a day.
Manual bollards suit entrances that open less often, and are available in permanent or temporary position variations. We help you choose the right mix for each entrance, and will point you to barriers or road blockers where they suit the site better.

Control and integration
How a bollard is opened matters as much as the bollard itself, so the controls and permitted users are agreed and set up as part of the installation.
Access control interface
A multi-function logic system lets an automatic bollard respond to proximity readers, card swipes, digital keypads, coin or token units, induction loops, push buttons and remote controls.
ANPR and CCTV
Bollards can work alongside ANPR cameras and CCTV at the same entrance, so the vehicles using it are recorded.
Manual bollards, a barrier or a road blocker may suit some entrances better. If so, that is what we recommend.
Part of your perimeter
Bollards alongside your other vehicle security
Bollards are one layer of perimeter protection. We install them alongside barriers, road blockers, ANPR cameras and access control, so each entrance gets the level of control it needs.
Working across the whole perimeter means one team designs how the equipment works together and supports it after installation.
Road blockers
A stronger physical stop
Where conventional vehicle barriers and bollards do not provide sufficient deterrent, a road blocker gives a higher level of traffic control.
Barriers
Everyday traffic control
Automatic barriers control the flow of vehicles at car park and site entrances, with separate routes provided for pedestrians.
ANPR cameras
Vehicles recognised automatically
ANPR cameras read number plates and can work alongside bollards, barriers and access control at the same entrance.
Bollard types
Types of security bollard
The right bollard depends on how often the entrance is used, who needs to get through and how much protection the site needs.
Most commercial sites use one or more of these four types, and different entrances on the same site can use different types.
Automatic bollards
Electro-hydraulic bollards that rise and lower on command, in 3 seconds.
Best for: busy entrances to car parks, loading bays and pedestrian areas.
Worth knowing: they need groundworks, a power supply and planned maintenance.
Temporary manual bollards
Manual bollards in temporary positions, moved or lowered by hand when the route needs to open.
Best for: service and occasional-use routes.
Worth knowing: someone has to be there to open and close the route.
Permanent manual bollards
Manual bollards fixed in a permanent position to protect a frontage, pedestrian area or building entrance.
Best for: shop fronts and retail units where ram-raiding is a risk.
Worth knowing: they do not open, so access routes are planned around them.
Bollards with access control
Automatic bollards linked to card, keypad, proximity reader, induction loop or remote control, so only authorised vehicles get through. They can also work alongside ANPR cameras.
Best for: sites with regular staff, visitor or delivery traffic.
Worth knowing: pedestrians should have their own route, separate from the vehicle entrance.
Bollard design and installation
How an installation works
The free site visit comes first. An engineer looks at the entrance, the vehicles that use it and the ground conditions, and the design and price are based on what they find.
Site visit
Free site visit and quotation
Design
Bollard type, number, positions and control method planned around your entrance and how it is used
Installation
Groundworks, installation, programming and testing by our engineers
Handover
Your team shown how the bollards, controls and safety features work
Ongoing support
A full check twice a year as standard, and a 24-hour emergency call-out, 365 days a year
Bollards linked to certified access control and CCTV
Bollards are physical equipment and sit outside our SSAIB certification, which covers access control, intruder alarms and CCTV. The access control that operates them, and any CCTV or ANPR cameras working alongside them, are installed under that certification. One team looks after both, and we also service, maintain and take over systems installed by other companies.
Security bollards across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia
We are a Cambridgeshire business with local engineers, providing responsive maintenance and long-term support for the bollards we install.
Areas we cover
We install and maintain bollards across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia, including Cambridge, Huntingdon, Peterborough, St Ives, St Neots, Ely, Wisbech, March, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds.
Our engineers are local to the region, and we also work with national clients across the UK.
Sites we protect
We install bollards for retail units, warehouses and other commercial premises, at car parks, loading bays, pedestrian areas and shop frontages.
- Retail
- Warehouses
- Car parks
- Loading bays
- Pedestrian areas
A shop front at risk of ram-raiding needs something different from a loading bay or a pedestrian zone, so the layout is planned around the way your site works.
“Papworth Trust have worked with Advance Security since 2012 on all aspects of security maintenance works, including door control, intruder alarms, Net2 access systems and project works such as gate installations. We have found them professional and attentive in their approach and would recommend them as an organised service provider within the security industry.”
Property and H&S Facilities Manager, The Papworth Trust
Next step
Free site visit and quotation
Bollard prices are not set from a list. An engineer visits the entrance, sees which vehicles use it and checks the ground, and the design follows the site and your budget. The visit is free.
Talk to us about your bollard requirements
Book a free site surveyCall 01223 566 599No charge for the visit
Frequently asked questions
Both stop vehicles at an entrance. Automatic bollards are a lower-cost alternative that suits pedestrian areas, car parks, loading bays and sites where space is limited. Road blockers are designed for entrances where conventional vehicle barriers and bollards do not provide sufficient deterrent. See our road blockers page for more.
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