92 alley gates from Jacksons Fencing’s Barbican® range specified to better protect Wellingborough and Kettering residents.
Launched in 2020, the Government’s Safer Streets scheme formed part of its concerted aim to directly tackle crime, providing funds to help reduce burglary and theft in crime hotspots across the UK.
Only this month it was announced that a further £18.4 million has been awarded to forty areas across the country, in a bid to tighten street security. The money will be used to implement measures proven to cut crime, including home security, alley gates, street lighting, CCTV and distributing crime prevention advice.
60% of the crimes committed in the UK are classed as ‘acquisitive crimes’ (robbery, theft, and burglary) and the government has identified that these commonly occur in areas where criminals find it easy to offend. This is often due to poor window and door security, or easy access through alleyways.
The brief
After a successful bid by the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), an action plan was formulated to help better protect residents living in the Victoria ward of Wellingborough, and Kettering. The plan was aided by a resident consultation in the areas and included a wide variety of security measures.
Proposed solutions included enhanced local CCTV coverage, free home security improvements for selected properties such as better door and window locks, lighting, alarms, and CCTV, alley gates, neighbourhood alert messages, and crime prevention literature for all residents.
Solution
One essential task was to secure the large number of alleyways which criss-cross the neighbourhoods, providing a wealth of opportunity for criminal activity. A simple and effective solution to tackling crime is installing alley gates. These block access to concealed areas where crimes can be committed, and prevent unauthorised access to homes.
Jacksons Fencing was called upon to supply and install 74 of their Barbican® alley gates for the ward to achieve this objective, making it one of their most expansive projects to date. In addition, another 18 gates were installed in Kettering as part of the scheme.
During the installation process, it became clear that alleyways also provide prime spots for fly-tipping, with a massive 20 tonnes of rubbish removed from site throughout the installation process.
The pink dots on the map show the locations of the alley gates in Wellingborough, of which 25 are public and maintained by the council, and 49 private, with keys provided for residents.
Barbican gates are extremely robust, as they incorporate a welded pale-through-rail construction, with no visible bolts or fixings that could be removed. Jacksons developed this range of fencing and gates to provide a safer alternative to steel palisade. Steel palisade is not fit for purpose in this setting due to its inherent flaws and weaknesses whereby bolts can easily be removed, enabling pales to be swung aside to allow repeated access without an obvious trace of a break-in.
The gates are hot-dip galvanised for long-lasting protection against rust and corrosion and were powder-coated black to provide a smart appearance and durable finish. The alley gates were manufactured with key locks, a timeless and simple locking method.
Keeping connected
Throughout the whole process, a Facebook group has kept residents of the borough informed of the progress. Admin shared updates on the installation of CCTV and the alley gates, as well as factsheets, and informative infographics.
The Borough Council of Wellingborough was also awarded £50,000 to maintain 25 of the public alley gates for the lifespan of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that covers Wellingborough town centre, and Victoria and Isebrook Wards. Therefore, the area is covered by legislation that prohibits anti-social behaviour for a minimum of three years.
Stephen Mold, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner commented on the scheme:
“My vision is to do everything I can to make this county a safer place and this financial support will have an enormous impact on improving security in the areas selected, which have higher levels of acquisitive crime than average for the county.”
Peter Jackson, MD, Jacksons Fencing says:
“It was a real privilege to play such a large part in this hugely important project. As a family business, we pride ourselves on creating quality products that will bring people together and make them feel safe and secure.“In previous projects where alley gates have been installed, up to a 43% reduction in crime in the area has been recorded. I am hopeful that these Barbican gates will have the same effect in the Wellingborough and Kettering areas.”
For more information on the security fencing options Jacksons Fencing offer please click here (www.jacksons-security.co.uk/).
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