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Gate automation and automatic gates in Bradford, Leeds and West Yorkshire

Automated sliding gate with Paxton access control at a West Yorkshire site

We design, install, service and repair automatic gates across Bradford, Leeds, Shipley, Keighley, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield. Sliding, cantilever, swing and bi-folding, on schools, commercial sites and industrial premises.

And we do the fence line too. That matters more than it sounds. Most gate automation firms do not install fencing, so on a perimeter project you end up with one contractor for the fence, another for the gates and a third for the access control, with three sets of paperwork and nobody owning the join. We fabricate, dig and install all of it ourselves, so it is one contract, one method statement and one warranty.

A gate that works is not the same as a gate that is safe

An automated gate is legally classed as machinery, which puts it inside the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, better known as PUWER. It has to be suitable, safe, properly maintained, inspected, and operated by people who have been shown how. The duty sits with whoever is responsible for the premises.

The catch is that the things keeping an automated gate safe are mostly invisible. Photocells, safety edges, and the force the gate exerts when it meets an obstruction. A gate that was compliant the day it was commissioned can drift out of compliance quietly, and it will keep opening and closing the whole time it does.

So every gate we install or service gets its force readings measured against the limits in BS EN 12453 and BS EN 12445, recorded, and issued to you as a certificate. Not a tick and a signature. Actual figures you can put in front of an inspector.

What we install

Cantilever sliding gate installation in progress, showing the track and operator

  • Sliding and cantilever gates, where there is no room to swing or the ground falls away
  • Swing gates, single and double leaf, underground or ram operators
  • Bi-folding gates where the opening is tight
  • Automating an existing gate, if the leaf and posts are sound enough to take it
  • Barriers and bollards for car parks and controlled access
  • Infills to match your fence line: 358 high security mesh, twin wire, V-mesh, palisade, bow top or timber

Every installation gets at least two different types of safety device, because each type has a blind spot. In practice that means photocells or a laser scanner working alongside pressure sensitive safety edges, so if one fails to detect an obstruction the other should. You get the manual, the manual release keys, and your staff shown how to use them before we leave.

Access control on the gate

Paxton video intercom, keypad and proximity reader on a gate post

Most automated gates need a way in for the people who belong there. Video intercoms so reception can see who is at the gate before releasing it, keypads, fobs and proximity readers, and induction loops for free exit. We can integrate with Paxton systems you already have rather than insisting on a rip out. More on our access control page.

Servicing, and why six months and not twelve

Gate control panel with separate Paxton controllers for the pedestrian and vehicle gates, and a fire relay

Gate Safe recommend a service every six months for gates in busy settings, and Jacksons Fencing publish the same figure as a minimum. A school gate can cycle dozens of times a day in term time.

We service every six months, not annually. Each visit covers a full function test, all safety devices tested, force readings taken and recorded, moving parts greased, consumables replaced, and any wear noted with a recommendation. You get a certificate every visit, which is what actually matters if you ever have to evidence that you took reasonable steps.

We service gates we did not install, including systems whose original installer has gone.

Who does the work

Airedale Fencing is Gate Safe accredited. Our gate automation engineer holds DHF Level 2 for powered gates. And I hold the ADIA Authorised Automatic Gate and Barrier Technician accreditation, awarded through City and Guilds, which is assessed individual competence rather than a company badge. My card carries a QR code, so you can check it rather than take my word for it.

We are also CHAS certified and SSIP assessed, our teams are enhanced DBS checked and carry recognised site cards, and we do our own fabrication, groundworks, electrical and installation. Nothing is subcontracted out and handed off.

Schools and multi academy trusts

A good deal of our work is for schools and trusts, from a single gate repair through to automation and access control across a whole estate, with bi-annual servicing and the certificates filed so you are not chasing paperwork before an inspection. If you look after several sites with different gates fitted by different people at different times, we can put the whole estate on one schedule. More on our multi academy trusts page.

Wondering about budget? We have written an honest guide to what drives the cost and the funding routes schools use.

Talk to us

Call 01274 964930 or drop us a line and we will come and look at it. We will tell you straight whether a gate needs automating, servicing or replacing, and if the honest answer is that it is fine as it is, we will say so.