Automated Sliding Gate Installation at Kimberley Primary School, Nottingham

Client: Kimberley Primary School, Swingate, Kimberley, Nottingham NG16 2PG

Scope: Removal of existing automated swing gates, relocation of the entrance line, and installation of a 6m automated sliding gate with 358 mesh infill

Sectors: Education | Perimeter security | Automated access control

The brief

Kimberley Primary School needed its main vehicle entrance rebuilt around a new automated sliding gate, replacing a pair of ageing swing gates that had reached the end of their working life. Rather than swap like for like, the school wanted the entrance itself reconsidered.

Moving the gate line into the site

We broke out, took down and disposed of the existing swing gates, then set the new gate line approximately 5 metres back inside the boundary.

That creates a holding area in front of the gate. A driver can now pull off Swingate, stop, and use the intercom clear of passing traffic. A sliding leaf makes the arrangement work, because it tracks across the opening rather than needing swing room in front of it

Pulling the gate line back meant reworking the ground it sits on. The entrance runs alongside an existing embankment, so foundations were prepared and levels graded with soil retained where the new alignment cut into the slope. New returns of fencing were supplied and installed to close the splayed opening and tie the relocated gate back into the existing perimeter, so the boundary reads as one continuous line rather than a patched repair.

The automated sliding gate

A single sliding leaf, 6000mm wide by 2.0m high, driven by a brushless motor. The infill is 358 mesh. The apertures are too small to get fingers into, and the panel resists cutting far better than standard weldmesh, which is why 358 has become the default for schools, utilities and any site where the fence needs to look open but behave like a barrier. The full-height rollback enclosure, which houses the gate leaf when it is open, is clad in the same 358 mesh so there is no trap point along the run and no visual mismatch between the gate and its housing.

The automated sliding gate carries a full safety package meeting current British Standards, and the installation was completed to GateSafe accreditation standards.

Access control

Entry is managed through a Paxton Net2 intercom at the new pull-in position, so the office controls who comes onto the site and has a record of it. Exit is automatic via a ground detection loop, meaning vehicles leaving do not need to reach for a fob or a keypad and the gate is never left standing open.

Groundworks

All groundworks were carried out in-house and included in the gate price, with no separate civils contractor:

• Disc-cut tarmac, broken ground, excavated foundation pads and trenching for new ducting
• Concrete edgings supplied and installed, foundations cast
• 63mm flexible ducting throughout, with power and data run separately at a minimum depth of 500mm
• Trenches backfilled with pea gravel and sand, with hazard warning tape laid as required
• Type 1 base stone compacted, finished in tarmac with bitumen-sealed joints for longevity

The result

Kimberley Primary School now has an automated sliding gate on a vehicle entrance where drivers stop safely off the highway, the office controls access from the building, and the perimeter is finished to a security specification suited to an education site. The gate line, fencing returns and surfacing were completed as a single package by one contractor.

Specification at a glance

• Gate type: Automated single-leaf sliding gate
• Size: 6000mm wide x 2.0m high
• Drive: Brushless motor
• Infill: 358 anti-climb, anti-cut mesh
• Enclosure: Full-height rollback enclosure, 358 mesh clad
• Groundworks: Foundations, ducting, drainage-safe backfill and tarmac reinstatement included
• Entry: Paxton Net2 intercom
• Exit: Ground detection loop
• Safety: Full safety package to current BS regulations, GateSafe accredited

Planning a school gate project?

Secure A Field designs, supplies and installs automated sliding gates, security fencing and access control across Nottinghamshire and the wider UK. Every installation includes the groundworks, so you deal with one contractor from breakout to final surfacing.

Call us or request a site survey to discuss your site entrance.