Gate Security

[mopardave]

I'm buying a house that has a meadow attached. The meadow has a wooden gate......big enough to get a caravan through! I'm a bit concerned about any "undesirables" getting in and parking their caravans! Anyone got any ideas on securing a gate/meadow? The gate is padlocked at the moment but the clown that hung the gate, put the L shaped hinges on in such a way that it can be lifted off at the hinge side! Job number 1 is to invert one of the hinges! I'm considering bollards but don't want to spoil the look of the entrance.....I know, I know.....if a load of "caravanners" get in, that really will spoil the look! Anyway......any thoughts gents? I'm probably over thinking it but you can never be too careful!

 

[richi]

Landmines

 

[Bargy62]

No gate will stop them
Round our way they regularly decide to have a little holiday on the heath
Out comes the petrol grinder in full view of a busy road off with the metal barrier not the padlock
Their clever because you report the reg of the van that they got out of that's not parked up when plod show up
and the others say we was just driving past and the gate was open
So the perfect security is never going to look pretty
Dig a ditch one in front and one behind the gate
Narrow enough for a tractor wheel
Too big for a transit and caravan

 

[Pete C]

Do you need the gate?
If not, just get rid of it and plant trees in its place.

Pete

 

[Nigel W]

We have a similar situation and the best, and cheapest, suggestion given us by the police after we had an intrusion was as well as locking the gate to put up a simple sign saying private land please keep out. We bought it from Amazon, placed it and took photos to prove it was in place.
This makes it doubly clear that it is private land and it does deter the occasional walker/youth looking for a shortcut as well.

 

[Bargy62]

A sign saying please and a locked gate is not keeping the nomadic caravan and camping club out

 

[mopardave]

I did think of making an arch over the gate.....too low for a caravan.....and plant something around it. Don't want it to look like fort Knox....what a buggar eh! Moving house is meant to be something to look forward to! Keep the suggestion's coming.....All appreciated guys!

 

[Nigel W]

Your problem won’t be people trying to use it as a campsite but walkers/members of the public trying to use it for recreational and or demanding rights of way. Take some professional advice and get some signs up, been there, got the postcard!

 

[Ads_Essex]

..Keep the suggestion's coming.....All appreciated guys!

You could tell your local Police that they can start using the land to exercise their canines - that should keep the potential visitor list down

 

[Oldrat]

I used to deal with travellers illegal encampments for a Local Authority and the most cost effective prevention was placing a large concrete ring behind the gate and filling it with soil.
The total cost from a local aggregate company was about £200 per ring.
Costs of solicitors and security would be past that in less than 30 mins.

It’s a bu66er to remove quickly and wont tow out of the way like tree trunks etc.

It’s a more permanent solution, but it works. Make sure it’s on the inside on the gate not outside.
Signage is also a great idea.
If they do arrive then speed is the essence, use as much force as you think reasonable and don’t be shy in telling police if you have been sworn at/ threatened etc as it gives police powers otherwise they are unlikely to be interested.

 

[mopardave]

I was thinking of some fold down bollards on the outside of the gate.....set into the tarmac....as opposed to inside the gate and set into the grass.....obviously concreted in whichever side.

 

[mopardave]

I suppose you could also "think" you'd seen a shooter....that'd get a fairly heavyweight police response...."Honestly Hofficer.....I'm bloomin' sure one of them was packin' heat!.........Oh, Really, it was just a banana.....oooops.....sorry about that hofficer." Risky though! Just read about a Lancashire brewery that they trashed....police did f*ck all....stood back and watched 'em do it! I suppose that tells me all I need to know! I can't get my head around how above the law they are!

 

[mopardave]

@Oldrat.....we like that idea......I think we're going to do that. Just looked on Jewsons website. A 900mm by 500mm weighs 265kg. We're going to fill it with rocks and soil and plant a shrub in it too. At least then if we need to move it, we can dig it out.....it'll be a right ball ache and won't be easy but it'll be doable.....but it also means any marauding caravan towing scum won't be moving it in a hurry either! Do you think there's any need to go that big.....or would you go bigger? 900mm seems to be the smallest diameter and they start at 250mm tall which I don't think is tall enough to be a deterrent.....hence 900mm by 500mm. Just to be a really flash git, I'm going to paint it too! Any thoughts??

 

[DaveyB]

@Oldrat.....we like that idea......I think we're going to do that. Just looked on Jewsons website. A 900mm by 500mm weighs 265kg. We're going to fill it with rocks and soil and plant a shrub in it too. At least then if we need to move it, we can dig it out.....it'll be a right ball ache and won't be easy but it'll be doable.....but it also means any marauding caravan towing scum won't be moving it in a hurry either! Do you think there's any need to go that big.....or would you go bigger? 900mm seems to be the smallest diameter and they start at 250mm tall which I don't think is tall enough to be a deterrent.....hence 900mm by 500mm. Just to be a really flash git, I'm going to paint it too! Any thoughts??

Hydrant Yellow?
You must still have some of that lurking around in the garage.

 

[mopardave]

Ah, now come on @DaveyB...….why on earth would I have some of that? What about fire eng...….er, sorry, I mean "post box" red?????

 

[Oldrat]

@mpDave
Police will not be interested unless specific offences have occurred.
Make sure that the gate is padlocked, doesn’t have to be expensive, but it must be checked regularly to prove it was the trespassers who damaged it and it wasn’t like that prior.

I can’t recall the exact dimensions, but to my eye they were about 90cm high, (lying on their side of course) and about 120 diameter.
The truth is, the bigger they are then the greater deterrent.


I’d suggest leaning towads the larger side, rather than two smaller rings. The reason is that I’ve seen attempts to move them and it does take ages and an awful lot of effort, so chances are that if you find that the ring has been damaged, they might try to sledgehammer it (!) then treat it as a warning that you’ve been targeted and you can easily get another ring beside it.

You can also plant the ground around the outside so it’s not such an eyesore.

As I said before, getting rid of illegal encampments is very very expensive and they will stay as long as they can until legislated against- can be months, and instantly there will be 15 vans on site.

 

[DaveyB]

Ah, now come on @DaveyB...….why on earth would I have some of that? What about fire eng...….er, sorry, I mean "post box" red?????

I thought everyone had a can of hydrant yellow lurking around. All I know is that when I was on watch there would never be a can in the storeroom to go out and do the hydrant runs.
I bet Dan has a business on the sly selling the stuff!

 

[Peatey]

There's a farmer that i was told about, that when they got on to his land he dug a trench across the field to prevent them leaving then waited for the nearby river to flood, because they had ended up on the local flood plain, never had any trouble since (might be an old made up yarn but it makes me chuckle when i think about it)

 

[DaveyB]

There's a farmer that i was told about, that when they got on to his land he dug a trench across the field to prevent them leaving then waited for the nearby river to flood, because they had ended up on the local flood plain, never had any trouble since (might be an old made up yarn but it makes me chuckle when i think about it)

The real problem with that story is that thanks to the way our wonderful judicial system works it would be the farmer hauled up on charges for imprisoning them in the field and breaching their human rights blah blah blah.

 

[Lord Mfwic]

We install electric drop down ramps on our government contracts and also for some local farmers who have the same problems. Not cheap but very effective and discreet when lowered.