Topic: Locked or not ?

[elvis2003]

Id love to charge a deposit for keys,but not everyone can afford it,and my mate reckons it didnt make any difference on his site,nowt will get folk to return their keys. I post out an SAE when people leave our place,and only one has ever used it to return the key,so Ive stopped bothering even with that.
re the gate,we are soon to implement a locked at all times policy,at the mo its a lock it at 4.30 thing,which not everyone does >:(

[ACE]

On  one of the sites I used to use they had a good combination lock welded to a chain then permantly fixed to the gate post. After you had proved yourself, you were given the combination and the numbers where changed now and again. It worked well and a committee member who spent loads of time at the site anyway used to notify us of the changes and you let the plot holder either side of you know the new numbers. It worked well.

[skintnbitter]

On our site the gate must be locked at all times, however common sense is used.

If you hold a plot at the top end of the site away from the gate as I do and no one is around you lock the gate behind you.

However if there are any members around who have plots down by the gate it is shut too but left unlocked. 

Also if you hear a car horn it is normally one of our members who is wheelchair bound needs the gate opening so he does not have to mess around getting in and out of his car and wheelchair to unlock the gate.

[tonybloke]

Thanks for all your contributions ,it's very interesting seeing how other sites do it
Re keys we used to charge £6 deposit but found for some that wasn't enough incentive to hand in their key if they left so sadly they've increased it to £25 .Watch this space  ;)

our association looked into the deposit scheme, it seems you have to put the deposit into a separate bank account, and pay any interest accrued to the person who gave you the deposit.

our association is supplying a key free of charge, when a document is signed stating that the key remains the property of the association, 1 key per tenant, and must be returned at end of tenancy.
the keys shouldn't be able to be cut by anyone else but the locksmith who provided them to the association. any 'lost' keys will be charged @ £25 each.

[tonybloke]

And a few of the men are concerned they might have a heart attack on site and the ambulance won't be able to reach them.

have you insisted these same folk carry a mobile phone at all times when on the site? after all, how would the said ambulance know they were needed? ;)

[lavenderlux]

The policy on our site is that the gates (one each end of our site) should be kept locked at all times but we have some people who regularly leave them open/unlocked;  we have notices on the gates to say keep them locked at all times.  On occasions we need to leave them open (when school visits at taking place or visitors expected) and we have a notice we hang on the gate to say leave them open because of visitors.
We pay a deposit of £5 per key - and additional keys are available if required.  We do, though get a problem that people giving up do not return their keys.

[Froglegs]

On our site if you know of a regular offender who keeps leaving the gates open you have to tell a committee member, the trouble is  theres to much in giving the benefit of the doubt with our committee,not so long a go a bloke was seen on another plot taking beans but because he denied it and it was his word against the other he was given the benefit of the doubt.

[Trevor_D]

Both gates kept permanently locked. All plot-holders have a key - £5, returnable on request when they leave.

Which means, in practice: no strangers - all plot-holders are very cute at picking this up and report it immediately - and very little thieving; but half the neighbourhood has a key which they haven't bothered to return as it costs so little.

But we also have a gate with keypad entry, giving access also to one of our smallholdings. The code has been given to the emergency services so that they have access. (We had a fire on site last year and nearly lost the gate when they needed access. Fortunately, one of our plot-holders lived opposite and let them in!)

[manicscousers]

our gates must be locked by the last on site, we have combination locks, means less keys, we do have keys for the communal shed though  :)

[pumkinlover]

Can I ask in this thread "what are the best type of locks to use"?
we have the discus type but are having a lot of problems with them. After a while the locks seize up-we use a specialist lock "lubricant" and have replaced them but the same happens again.
I want to look at another type of lock and have thought about key pads or combination locks. but the committee thought they would be too fiddly!! so I was asked to buy the same type again-with the same problems.
OH off to the locksmith again today, any advice  or ideas welcome.
thanks Anne x
in reply to the thread -yes locked- with very good compliance.

[tonybloke]

'FEDERAL' brand of padlock, (only the owner can get keys cut, so no mystery copies) and DO NOT EVER use any lubricant in a padlock. (is what our locksmith advises) ;)

our association is about to buy almost 900 new keys and 21 new padlocks, I have done plenty of research!!

[macmac]

They use graphite on our padlock, it's the type Tony suggests  :)

[Carls3168]

We have three gates on our site (2 for vehicles), and recently a rule has been introduced that all must be closed and locked at all times (we are told this has something to do with public liability insurance?)

Slam-locks have been fitted to all the gates where you have to put a number into the gate to get in/out.
Alot of people have complianed as you need to park on the road, open the gate, drive in, close the gate, then drive to the carpark... just people being lazy in my opinion!

Alot of people preffer it however, as it is quite a large site and there used to be a problem with people walking in (teens etc) on an evening.... you wouldnt dare challenge them for fear of the damage they might do to your plot later! At least with the gates locked it feels safer!

Also the police / ambulance etc have been given the codes for the gates incase of emergency (as this was another reason people gave for not having the gates locked!)

We used to have padlocks and keys but they were more hassel... numerous times people actually got locked IN the allotments as they had forgot their key, at least with a number you can scribble it down in your wallet/mobile phone!  ;D

[goodlife]

Oh how nice to know that same arquments, problems and solutions are going on over other allotments. We have this gate locking issue coming up every other year...and at the moment we are 'middle' of it again ::)

Code: [Select]

On our site the gate must be locked at all times, however common sense is used. That's our rule too..but over years we've come to conclusion that peoples common sense vary ::)..oh, yes...It is amazing how such a simple thing like locking or closing a gate can be and how much agression it can cause :-X
Well another committee meeting ahead..to return good spirit into a place ::)
I shall report to our committee that we are not the only ones with it ;D

[grannyjanny]

We were charged £6 for the key when we first got the plot. I make sure I have my mobile with me as there are some older people there with health problems.

[Digeroo]

We have no vehicular access to site so we always have to walk.  But since it is past a nature reserve with lake it is actually part of the pleasure.  Carrying two bucket fulls of recycled compost almost every visit burns off a few extra calories.

It is possible ti get a little closer for a very short time for deliveries but it blocks a private drive so we try and keep it to a minimum.

I would love to be inside a securely locked perimeter fence when I am there on my own.  Though I agree some kind of external access to a key for emergency services sounds like a necessity as well.   Also if someone comes in using a key you know they are bono fide.  If the gate is open how do you know who should be there.  I certainly do not know all the plot holders and certainly do not know their friends and relations.

How often do people need to call an ambulance?  I actually had a problem earlier in the year but managed to get back to my car before I collapsed.  Has anyone been mugged on an allotment?

[Ellen K]

^^ some of the guys ask if I want to be locked in when they leave and I am on my own.

But when you think of all the placed you could be mugged, the lottie is well down on the list.

I don't quite buy the argument that the gate needs to be left unlocked at all times in case some one is alone and calls an ambulance - do these people leave their front doors unlocked for the same reason?  But I do see people doing things which in the workplace they would not be allowed to do alone.  Some of the plot holders are 70+ years old and when you see them up a wonky old ladder hammering on new roofing on their sheds or pruning hedges, well that really does make me stick around and keep an eye open for them even if I want to go home.

[tonybloke]

I have been in contact with our local ambulance service r.e. emergency access to allotment sites, after about 6 months I got a response!!  they were glad someone had brought up the issue of locked gates, as it also happens on other locked areas ( yards, building sites, etc), and they (ambulance service) hadn't thought of access issues to these areas (good risk management by them),  all of our local ambulances now carry bolt-croppers!!
rgds, Tony

[cornykev]

Our council charge a deposit for a key when you first get the plot, both our gates are to be kept locked but some can't be bothered when they are on site but are the first to complain when something goes missing.   ;D ;D ;D

[pumkinlover]

Thanks for reply Tony.
You must have a huge site if you need 21 locks and 900 keys, no wonder you did a lot of research.
The federal locks look good but we do not think they will fit on our gates.
There seems a varietly of views on what if any lubricant to use! :-\
We were sold a lock lubricant by the original locksmith in Sheffield,
the one OH went to in Chesterfield says use WD40 monthly.
Your locksmith says never lubricate
Federal say use a specialist liubricant (at least on the web page I viewed)

Anyway we are going to try using the lubricant from the same place we bought the locks and hope that works they have a 10 year guarantee.  so will take them back if they don't.
I would appreciate knowing how you get on with the Federal locks, Crikey how much is that lot costing you!!! ::)
Thanks Anne