Interviews

Gate Safe survey

by Mark Rowe

To mark National Gate Safety Week, Gate Safe, (a charity founded to improve standards in automated gate safety) is giving findings from site surveys. It’s claimed that housing developers and property management companies are not taking heed of the guidance to ensure a safe and compliant electric gate installation.

This is despite the fact that there have been five confirmed accidents including three fatalities resulting from children playing around automated gates on a residential estate. And with housing developments on the increase, the likelihood of another accident occurring is alarmingly high, according to the charity.

The first survey, undertaken on behalf of a major London residential property consultancy, involved a review of 23 automated gates which featured on seven client sites. Almost 95pc of the gates audited failed to match the accepted safety protocol for automated gates. A further survey for another London property consultant covering six residential complexes comprising six gates, once again revealed a total failure rate. Sadly the charity says these findings are consistent with other surveys carried out by Gate Safe over the years. Indeed the industry estimates that more than two thirds of all automated gates installed in the UK do not comply with latest legislation and could pose a serious safety risk.

Gate Safe founder Richard Jackson, pictured, says: “Given the news earlier this year that the government is to donate £50 million to the Local Growth Fund to unlock locally led housing developments and a further £1 billion available as loans to get large scale housing projects off the ground, we are destined to witness a rapid increase in activity for housing developers and that means even more automated gates. We urge anyone associated with the construction of new homes to pay heed to the latest guidance on how to install a safe and secure automated gate to avoid any further tragedies occurring. We would also encourage all businesses involved in managing existing residential properties to have any featured automated gates checked by a suitably Gate Safe Aware qualified installer, to prevent the risk of any further accidents occurring as a result of an unsafe installation.”

Gate Safe Aware installers can be identified via the Gate Safe website www.gate-safe.org. Construction businesses involved in housing development projects are welcome to attend the Gate Safe Aware training course, details of the next course are featured on the Gate Safe website.

About Gate Safe

It’s supported by the Electrical Safety Council, Electrical Contractor’s Association, Safety Assessment Federation, RoSPA, School SafetyMARK, Secured by Design, Trade Skills 4 U (no1 provider of electrical qualifications), International Institute of Risk and Safety Management and ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme).

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