Alley Gating

'Alley Gating' is a very simple crime preventive measure which involves erecting steel gates to the ends of alley-ways and passages that are the responsibility of the home owners who live around them.  There are a number of other advantages in addition to reducing the levels of burglaries which include:-

• Reduced opportunities for youths to cause annoyance - This could mean anything from drinking in the alleys to taking drugs
  
  
• Reducing the possibility of burglaries
  
  
• Reducing the likelihood of dumped or fly tipped rubbish
  
  
• Reducing arson attempts
  
  
• Fewer problems of dog fouling by stray dogs
  
  
• Safe play areas for children
  
  
• Improved community spirit giving a sense of ownership of the alleys
  

How to apply for and implement a successful 'alley-gating' scheme

1. Check with the County Council's Highway Investigation and Searches Section:
   
   Steve Fowler  Tel: (01604) 654420 or email to: sfowler@northamptonshire.gov.uk  
   
   to determine whether the alley that you wish to gate is unadopted and therefore private.  This is to ensure that what you will be doing is strictly within the law.
   
   
2. Obtain signatures from all those affected by the gates to indicate that they are in approval to alley gates being erected; this should include landlords as well as tenants, if applicable.  This is to ensure that no-one can claim that they were not in agreement.  Being the alley is unadopted and classed as private it will be down to the residents to arrange the gating.
   
   
3. Agree a system for wheelie-bin management with your neighbours.  The refuse collection service will not keep copy keys and therefore all residents should ensure that the bins are placed outside of the gates on the day of collection and returned once they have been emptied.  Consideration should also be given to the elderly and disabled who may struggle to move their bins.  Arrangements should be made between all residents to assist those people that may require help.
   

Important things to consider:-

• Thought should be given to an on-going maintenance fund for the gates.  We would suggest that all residents contribute a small sum of a few pounds per year to be place in a communal bank account to fund any maintenance or repairs that they may require
  
  
• Gates should not open onto the highway, but into the alley-way
  
  
• Contact all service providers who may have dealings in the area.  This should include (but not be limited to) emergency services, and utility companies including telephone and television companies
  
  
• The alley-ways which are proposed to be gated should be unadopted, which means that they are not maintained by the Council as part of the highway network.  There must be no third party rights of access over the alley-way other than the residents themselves.  Sometimes a challenge will be received by people claiming that they have enjoyed unrestricted access for over twenty years and this can prevent the introduction of the gates without a closure order through the courts (see below)
  
  
• If the alley-way is adopted, or has third party rights to pass over it, residents would have to apply, at their expense, for a closure order through the County Council at the local Magistrates court.  This is a long and arduous process that can become costly, especially if groups in favour of open access to rights of way oppose the application.  Also all public service providers who have laid pipes or cables underneath the alley have to be contacted and they can object due to lack of access resulting from the installation of the gates.  Because this process is time-consuming, one strategy that has been taken is to secure 'unadopted' passages first before directing attention to adopted ones.  With alley-ways that are adopted, once a closure order has been obtained, adjacent homeowners will become the legal owners of the alley-ways(s) and therefore become responsible for them.
  
  
• Serious thought should be put into the design of the gates.  Many different types of gates can be used, but the ones chosen should meet the requirements of the area in which they will be installed.  For this reason, it has been found helpful to conduct a physical survey of the area that will receive the equipment before assuming a 'one-fits-all' scenario.  Some alleys will be wider than normal, whilst others may need to be suitably modified for particular residents, for example those with physical disabilities or mobility problems.  Both of these situations will need to be taken into account when determining the size and type of the gate to be installed.
  
  
• Gate management - Once the gates are erected they become the property of the residents protected by them and the County Council cannot assist in resolving issues such as wheelie bin management, problems with residents failing to close them or any other differences between residents on how they are managed.
  
  
• Gating Orders - A new power was introduced through the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, which inserts new sections into the Highways Act 1980, to enable a local authority to make a gating order restricting access to certain highways, such as paths and alleyways that suffer from both anti-social behaviour and crime.  The County Council is drafting a protocol on this subject, when approved information will be available on this web site.
  

For further information on this issue please contact us by using the details provided.