Topic: electronic gates

[elvis2003]

hi folks,as harebrained as this idea may seem,im going to put it to you anyway!
we have some debate at the lottie as to whether to keep the gate permanently locked,or not. most say yes,for security reasons,to stop flytipping etc,but some say no,as it would be a pain to get out of your car,open,drive thru and lock again. to keep the peace,im wondering about electric gates,everyone gets a fob and can operate the gate without having to get out of the car. so...anyone know how much this would cost? anyone got said gates?
rach
x

[tonybloke]

If the gates are left unlocked,how is your insurance effected? What about 'random folk' straying onto your site and getting injured? if folk can't be arsed to get out of their cars and lock gates behind themselves, are they willing to be held personally liable?
 ;)

[elvis2003]

hi tony,im very aware of all the above,problem is ,its a senior committee member that is against locking them,he has a bad hip and struggles to get in and out of his car,hence why im trying to find a compromise

[halfofmanic]

hi folks,as harebrained as this idea may seem,im going to put it to you anyway!
we have some debate at the lottie as to whether to keep the gate permanently locked,or not. most say yes,for security reasons,to stop flytipping etc,but some say no,as it would be a pain to get out of your car,open,drive thru and lock again. to keep the peace,im wondering about electric gates,everyone gets a fob and can operate the gate without having to get out of the car. so...anyone know how much this would cost? anyone got said gates?
rach
x

Hi Elvis   my contribution for what its worth      i,m  for my sins chairman of our site and so understand the probs of trying to please all the people all the time     cant be done easily   your members are lucky to be able to drive to their site    we have to park up in a car park   and walk to the site    then to the plot      a plot can take quite an effort to work it  even with a no dig system   bearing this in mind how many of your   plotty  members  would find it a big problem to open and close a gate....car being near by     when compared to running their plot   i hope this doesnt  sound harsh    but it is always easier to comment on other peoples dilemmas when your not involved     hope you can sort it    ::)

[tonybloke]

hi tony,im very aware of all the above,problem is ,its a senior committee member that is against locking them,he has a bad hip and struggles to get in and out of his car,hence why im trying to find a compromise

sorry for the old boy and his dodgy hip,
ask him if you can remove the gates altogether, that would save all of the problems with access!! and he's a committee member??

[elvis2003]

im also aware that since becoming sec,ive changed quite a few things (dragged the site into this century) and this is pretty much the only issue left to tackle,dont want to push my luck as have had full support from all the comm up till now. yes manic,is hard at times trying to please everyone,and i do realise its impossible to achieve,all the time!

[Baccy Man]

Installation cost would probably be around £5000 for installation from an AESIF approved installer. Typically you would only get 2 or 3 fobs with the gate additional ones would typically cost £30-£40 each but could be as much as £80 each depending on the manufacturer of the entry system. To comply with the machinery directive they must be inspected and tested every six months & a current safety inspection certificate must be on display permanently. You would also need to have them serviced every 12 months as per the machinery directive.
Given that it is for an allotment site there is a possibility your council would require planning permission, not normally an issue but you would have to check it out just in case.
You need to consider the ongoing costs testing, servicing, replacing fobs that go walkabout etc... all adds up.
I am assuming you would require a solar power source as most allotment sites don't have mains electricity. Is the solar setup likely to be vandalised or stolen from your site?
What will you do when the entry system becomes faulty which it inevitably will at some point there will be a key operated manual overide but will you issue those keys to everyone too? If not then how will people be able to access their allotments until it can be repaired?

The question I would be asking is if people are not fit enough to get in/out of a car & open/close a gate then are they really fit enough to work an allotment?

[halfofmanic]

Installation cost would probably be around £5000 for installation from an AESIF approved installer. Typically you would only get 2 or 3 fobs with the gate additional ones would typically cost £30-£40 each but could be as much as £80 each depending on the manufacturer of the entry system. To comply with the machinery directive they must be inspected and tested every six months & a current safety inspection certificate must be on display permanently. You would also need to have them serviced every 12 months as per the machinery directive.
Given that it is for an allotment site there is a possibility your council would require planning permission, not normally an issue but you would have to check it out just in case.


You need to consider the ongoing costs testing, servicing, replacing fobs that go walkabout etc... all adds up.
I am assuming you would require a solar power source as most allotment sites don't have mains electricity. Is the solar setup likely to be vandalised or stolen from your site?
What will you do when the entry system becomes faulty which it inevitably will at some point there will be a key operated manual overide but will you issue those keys to everyone too? If not then how will people be able to access their allotments until it can be repaired?

The question I would be asking is if people are not fit enough to get in/out of a car & open/close a gate then are they really fit enough to work an allotment?

hi  Baccy Man  a very full and professional  report    we need somebody like you on our site    i tried to say the same thing but not as direct   but your spot on    regardless of position     it would not be practical   or cost effective to go down the
electronic gate option     if you had the money     think what you could do with it on site             in closing  it may help to think  what would happen if the person wasn't 
on the committee    all should be equal on site 

[lottie lou]

What about the people who don't/won't drive and walk to the site - they would need a key fob as well.  Its also quite scarey getting oneself locked in.

[elvis2003]

thanks baccyman,i do now realise its not a cost effective option! and dont worry manic,all are treated equally,this post wasnt actually about that,but thanks for your input!

[Sparkly]

Oh dear Elvis! I don't think there is an acceptable reason for not locking the gate. By not locking it you are most probably invalidating any insurance. This is not including the increased risk for opportunistic theft or damage hence putting other people's possessions at risk. Thereare a few people at our site who are too lazy to lock the gate. This is not really when they are leaving, but when they come onto the site. A few individuals come onto the site, undo the padlock and then go about their business at their plot. This could be a good 500m from the gate at times when there are not many others around thus leaving the site wide open for trouble - literally! If your commitee member finds it difficult with getting in and out of their car then a solution needs to be found as in getting someone else to lock the gate for them. Perhaps a neighbouring plot holder could do this? They would then only need to do it themselves if no-one else is around. They could also park outside and walk in thus not having to do the gate twice going in and out.

Best of luck with this. I know nobody wants to cause problems or fall out with anyone, but you can't have the security of the whole site put at risk for one person.

[Chrispy]

Hate to think what the general public would say if they saw electric gates on an allotment site.

AW, When I first got my allotment, people were rather relaxed about locking the gate, when I would leave I would not bother locking up if I could see others still on site.
The problem with this, is that it was regularly left unlocked all night long!

We now have a strict policy of keeping the gates locked, it's a bit of a pain when I am just popping in to fetch something, but it keeps the site secure.

[elvis2003]

yep sparkly,all of the above are reasons i would prefer to see the gates locked,plus we have a mystery flytipper at large too! ive suggested that the plotholder beeps his horn,i would hear him from my plot,as long as im there,and anyone else would give him a hand too. also,if its locked at all times,hopefully it will never be left open overnight,as has happened twice to my knowledge.

[grawrc]

We have a problem with the gates being left open on the East side but not on the west. The differences are - on the west side the padlock is welded to a chain welded to the gate and the key cannot be removed unless the padlock is in the locked position. Not so on the east.

[Pesky Wabbit]

We've had a Locked At All Times policy for quite sometime. The only person who ever left the wide open was the Secretary! His plot is right next to the gate and used to argue that he kept an eye on it. Except of course when he wandered off to talk to/complain at  someone.

If anyone else left the gate unlocked it was all hell to pay.  ::)

[PurpleHeather]

You are very lucky to have electricity on site to make that decision.

I suppose it is down to the geography of the site and the area you are in which makes the main difference.

Our gates are supposed to be kept closed but they tend to be open when there is some one on site, last one on is supposed to lock up but we have all been on when there is no one about and the gates have been left open, or the lady from the local neighbourhood watch has telephoned to say that she has been walking her dog and noticed the gate is unlocked and there is no one on site.

Though it beggers belief that there is some one too disabled to get in and out of a car, yet can do the heavy work involved in keeping up an allotment.

There are disability benifits meant to be used for paying some one to do jobs for you, which you can not do for yourself.  May be he is not aware that he could claim that benifit an pay some one to do the opening and closing for him. 

[Pesky Wabbit]

Maybe there's an EU grant available to help fund equality for disabled people ?