Severnside Sirens


The Severnside Sirens are a system of Civil defense sirens located along the South Severn Estuary coastline from Redcliffe Bay to Pilning, northwest of Bristol. They are activated by Avon and Somerset Police in the event of a potential incident at one of the COMAH sites located in the area, mainly in and near Avonmouth. The system was setup in 1997 following a fire at the Albright and Wilson site in 1996.

Severnside Sirens Trust

Severnside Sirens Trust Limited is the organisation responsible for maintaining the system. It is a registered company and charity and was incorporated on 9 April 1997. The trust's activities are funded by the 3 local authorities whose constituents the sirens serve, North Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, and South Gloucestershire Council, and from donations from the organisations running the COMAH sites themselves.

Sirens

The sirens themselves are mounted on dedicated poles and all but one are manufactured by the Federal Signal Corporation. Most of them are Federal Signal Modulators. They are operated via radio signal from a control system at Avon and Somerset Police Headquarters in Portishead.
DesignationLocationComment
Siren 3Portishead Fire Station car park
Siren 7 Chittening, towards the north end of Chittening RoadLocated across the road from the site of the former Sevalco carbon black factory.
Siren 10 Hallen, In the vicinity of the Hallen Fuel Depot between the village and HenburyAdded to the system in 2013.
Siren 11Redcliffe Bay, on the Arqiva transmitting mast
Siren 12Redcliffe Bay
UnknownRoyal Portbury Dock
UnknownAvonmouth, at the end of Victoria Road
UnknownThe former AstraZeneca plant off, Severn Road
UnknownLawrence Weston - behind the Lawrence Weston Clinic
UnknownShirehampton - in Lamplighters Marsh.This siren is directional, with loudspeaker cones pointed across the river to Pill and towards Shirehampton proper.
UnknownRoyal Edward Dock - opposite St Andrews Road railway station
UnknownPilning - behind the Pilning Surgery

Testing

The sirens are tested at 1500 on the 3rd of every month. The test comprises the following:
Local volunteers monitor the sirens on test day.