If you go down to the woods today...
8th September 2008
As part of a 16 acre re-development of ancient woodlands near Maidstone, the Bearsted Woodland Trust needed to address accessibility issues, as well as security for an adjacent private home owner.
The project, supported entirely by volunteers and lottery funding, has restored a large area of woodland and made it a picturesque haven for the people of the surrounding area.
The area is now fully accessible to all with gentle paths and special gates
This allows wheelchair, pushchair and disabled buggy access throughout the woodland area.
Security Objectives
Situated in the Bearsted Woodland Trust area is a privately owned cottage that blends in perfectly with the new paths and public areas, but the owners also needed to retain their privacy.
In order to achieve this, and not impact on the owners’ access to their home, it was decided by the committee to install an electrically powered 5-bar entrance gate to de-mark the drive from the A20 entrance.
The big problem was that the entrance was at least 300 metres away from any source of mains power.
The Green Gate Company, working with the Bearsted Woodland Trust, installed a solar and wind powered automated gate to the new entrance that meets both the Trusts' and cottage owners’ security requirements.
So as not to inconvenience visitors to the cottage, the gate operates by entry and exit buttons providing a visual security barrier during the day time.
Fitted with an infrared safety beam, the gate automatically closes itself, unless of course any vehicles or people remain in its way.
At night time however, it remains securely locked and opens only for users with either a radio key fob or with the access key codes.
Environmentally friendly
Powered entirely by solar and wind power, the new automated security gate is the first of its kind in a public setting anywhere in the United Kingdom.
The Bearsted Woodland Trust has a strong environmental awareness and the development is about returning the area to its former natural beauty.
The new green powered security gate was the perfect solution for the Trust, as it eliminated the need and cost of digging up hundreds of metres of pasture and public paths to install mains power.
The new security gate has no further running costs, with the solar panels guaranteed for 25 years.
Simple, safe and green!
“This has been a rewarding nature development for the people of Bearsted and surrounding area, ensuring they have protected countryside on their doorstep” stated David Johnson, the Bearsted Woodland Trust’s project manager.
“We also needed to ensure that the homeowners on the site were not inconvenienced and the automated gate ensures they retain their privacy.’
‘Not only is the new solar powered gate helping us to do our bit for the environment, it was also cost effective by eliminating the need, cost and disruption of installing a long power cable.”
‘Automate today the Green way!’
Rated to operate on the shortest day of the year, The Green Gate Company’s security gates feature a high level of built-in safety, ensuring reliable and care-free operation every time, all year round.
Ready to fit with a range of access control accessories (such as intercoms, swipe-card readers, automatic exit loops, infrared safety beams etc), each installation can be fully customised to suit even the most demanding needs.
“It was really rewarding to work with the Bearsted Woodland Trust on this project and provide one of the first dual-powered systems fitted in the UK.’
‘By using wind turbines alongside solar power, the automated gate systems can use wind energy during the night time, which is especially helpful during our short winter days. It means we can save costs by providing smaller solar panels, while still powering the gate hundreds of times a day”, explains Neil Sampson, managing director of Solar Gates UK Ltd.
“We are proud to offer a range of security solutions including automated gates and car park barriers powered by renewable resources to make homes, schools and public buildings safer, greener and more convenient”.
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