Oh, are they special handlebar-height stands? Our local Sansbury's has those, mounted end to end in a row - complete arse with a flat barred bike, and little better with drops. They're also made of tubing of about the same diameter as the internal spacing of a typical D-lock, leaving just about enough room for a chainstay (unless you brought a mini-D-lock).
Fortunately they have a trolley park nearby made of sensible-sized stands that everyone locks their bike to. Suspect the contractors used the wrong pile of U-shaped metal when they built it.
I should probably go and take a photo, if we're having a thread...