COUNCILLORS have approved plans to install gates to the fire exit doors at the Pyramid Arts Centre.

The application proposed gates to the two fire exit doors located on Winmarleigh Street, fencing/gates at the emergency escape route and below the Kalwall tower at the rear of the building, and the installation of ‘new emergency escape LED lighting and signage to replace what is currently in place.

The plans were approved, as well as listed building consent, by the development management committee at its meeting on Thursday.

A report to the committee said the proposal seeks to install ‘galvanised steel gates of a traditional design with a protective paint coating’ to both the exit doors on Winmarleigh Street.

The proposed gates will be mounted on a steel frame attached to a timber doorframe ‘which is not part of the original fabric of the building’.

It added: “The proposal has come about as a result of discussions between the Pyramid Arts Centre, the council and police to address issues whereby the recesses of the emergency exit door on Winmarleigh Street together with sheltered areas to the rear of the building underneath the Kalwall tower on the rear elevation and an area to the right of the rear exit doors, are being used by rough sleepers for overnight sheltering and anti-social behaviour in the daytime.

“The submitted design and access statement states that this regularly results in these exits being obstructed by discarded items, bedding and belongings which create a safety hazard and would cause an obstruction in the event of an emergency.”