Access Control St Albans
Access Control Solutions designs, installs and services access control, door entry systems, automatic gates, car park barriers, bollards and automatic doors across St Albans, Harpenden and the surrounding villages. We have over 20 years in the trade and are approved installers for Paxton, Came, FAAC and BFT. Many of our jobs here involve period homes and conservation areas, and we plan them with that in mind.
Access Control Systems in St Albans
For a business, keys are a constant worry. You rarely know how many copies exist or who still has one. Access control replaces keys with fobs, cards or codes you can cancel in seconds.
Fob, card and keypad access
As approved Paxton installers we fit single keypad doors right up to Paxton Net2 systems covering whole offices and multiple buildings. You see who used each door and when, set access by person or time, and update everything from a PC.
One system for doors, gates and barriers
A gated home or office can run the front door, the side gate and the driveway gates from one set of fobs. On a networked system you can see who came and went, and change access from a PC without anyone touching a lock.
Automatic Gates in St Albans
On the larger plots around Harpenden, Wheathampstead and the edges of St Albans, electric gates are often the finishing touch to a property. They add privacy and security, and they make coming home easier. Safety and planning both need to be right from the start, and that is where a careful installer earns their fee.
Swing gates
Swing gates suit most traditional driveways and look right on period homes, especially in timber. Underground motors hidden beneath the hinges keep the mechanism out of sight, which matters on attractive frontages. A drive that slopes up from the road affects which way they can open.
Sliding gates
Sliding gates work well on narrower plots, sloping drives and wide openings. They run along the boundary on a track or a cantilever frame, and they are the usual choice for commercial entrances.
Opening and access options
Fobs come as standard. Keypads, proximity tags, video intercoms and phone apps can be added, so you can let a delivery in while you are in London or give your cleaner their own code.
Barriers and Bollards in St Albans
For offices, schools, care homes and apartment developments, vehicle access needs to be controlled without causing queues. We plan each entrance around who uses it, when, and how visitors should be handled.
Car park barriers
Rising arm barriers are the most cost effective way to manage a staff or residents’ car park. They can be opened by fob, keypad or intercom, or linked to an existing access control system so one credential does everything.
Bollards
Fixed bollards protect shopfronts and entrances from vehicles. Removable and telescopic bollards keep private bays clear, and automatic rising bollards allow approved vehicles through while stopping everyone else.
See our barriers and bollards 
Automatic Doors in St Albans
We install automatic sliding and swing doors for shops, surgeries, offices and public buildings in and around St Albans. They help everyone get in and out, including wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs. Where a building’s character matters, automating a suitable existing door rather than replacing it can be the best route.
Door Entry Systems in St Albans
Many of the city’s larger houses have been converted into flats, and a dependable door entry system keeps those shared entrances secure. We install Videx, BPT, Bell and Urmet audio and video intercoms, including systems residents can answer on their phone, chosen to look right on older frontages as well as new builds.
Access Control and Gates for St Albans Schools
St Albans has a mix of state primaries, secondaries and long established independent schools, many in older buildings. Security has to work without spoiling the character of the place, so we choose discreet readers, neat entry panels and cameras that blend in.
The principles are the same everywhere. According to the Department for Education’s school security guidance, visitors should sign in at reception and not wander around unaccompanied, and a video door entry system with release from the office makes that easy. Staff carry fobs or cards, with access set by building, door and time of day.
School entrances in St Albans are often on narrow, busy roads, and drop off can back traffic up quickly. Well planned gates help. We keep pedestrians and vehicles apart with a dedicated pedestrian gate, and set vehicle gates to open promptly at the busiest times.
Martyn’s Law is also on the horizon. Schools expecting 200 or more people on site at once will need evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication procedures, and those duties will not start before April 2027. Where school buildings are listed, we plan fixings and cable routes with consent in mind.
- Door entry with release from reception
- Staff fobs, cancelled the day someone leaves
- Controlled doors locked down from a single point
- Separate pedestrian gates, away from vehicle routes
- Safety edges, photocells and force testing as standard
Gate safety: the standards we work to
Automated gates and barriers are machines, and the law treats them that way. They fall under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, the recognised safety standard is BS EN 12453, and the DHF TS 011 code of practice explains how to design, install and maintain them so the risk to people is as low as reasonably practicable.
Each of our installations begins with a risk assessment. We fit safety edges and photocells that stop and reverse the gate before it can trap or injure anyone, and we force test with calibrated equipment. The documentation comes to you at handover.
Older electric gates without safety edges or photocells should be checked. We can survey existing gates around St Albans and bring them up to the current standard.
- Risk assessment for every installation
- Safety edges and photocells that stop and reverse the gate
- Force testing with calibrated equipment
- Safety documentation at handover
Planning permission for gates in St Albans
This matters more in St Albans than in most places. Under permitted development rules in England, a new gate next to a road used by vehicles, including the pavement, can be up to one metre high without planning permission, and up to two metres elsewhere. Listed buildings need consent, and conservation areas can bring tighter controls.
St Albans has extensive conservation areas, and some have Article 4 directions that remove certain permitted development rights, including Verulam and Fishpool Street and Sopwell Lane and Albert Street. Before ordering front gates, check with St Albans City and District Council. We are happy to talk through what is likely to be acceptable.
Access control and gate repairs in St Albans
Gates wear, especially heavy timber ones. Hinges drop, motors weaken, photocells drift out of line and door hardware loosens over time. Regular servicing keeps everything safe and reliable and costs less than an emergency repair. We service and repair most major brands, including systems we didn’t fit.
Alarms and CCTV working with your gates
We also install burglar alarms and CCTV, so your gates can be part of one system. A camera on the gate shows who is there, and the alarm looks after the house or office once the gates are shut.
Areas we cover around St Albans
We fit access control, door entry and gates across St Albans, including Marshalswick, Jersey Farm, Sandridge and the larger homes on the edges of the city, as well as commercial and residential developments around London Colney and Park Street.
Further out, we cover Harpenden, Wheathampstead, Redbourn, Colney Heath and Bricket Wood. Our engineers come down the M1 from Leicester on a fixed date agreed in advance.
- Harpenden
- Wheathampstead
- Redbourn
- Sandridge
- Colney Heath
- Bricket Wood
How a gate installation runs
We start with a visit to measure up, check the ground, slope and power supply, and talk about style and how you will use the gate, including any planning questions. A written quote follows with drawings where they help. Groundwork, posts and cabling go in first, then the gate, motors and safety devices. We test everything, show you how to use it and how to release it by hand during a power cut, and hand over the safety documentation.
Visit
Measurements, ground, slope, power and planning
Quote
Written, with drawings where useful
Install
Groundwork, posts, gate, motors and safety devices
Handover
Testing, manual release and documents
Customer reviews
Access control in St Albans: your questions answered
How much does access control cost in St Albans?
It depends on how many doors you want to control, the locks they need and whether you want a standalone keypad or a networked system. We give a fixed written quote after a site visit.
Can you fit access control to a listed building?
Yes. We use slim readers and discreet locks, and run cables as neatly as the building allows. External fixings on a listed building can need listed building consent, so we recommend checking with St Albans City and District Council before work starts.
How much do electric gates cost in St Albans?
It depends on the size and material of the gates, whether they swing or slide, the motors, groundwork and access controls. Automating existing gates is usually much cheaper than a new bespoke pair. We quote a fixed price in writing after a visit.
Do I need planning permission for electric gates in a conservation area?
Possibly. Outside conservation areas, a gate next to a road can be up to one metre high without permission. In St Albans, some conservation areas have Article 4 directions that remove certain permitted development rights, so check with the council before ordering.
Can you automate period timber gates?
Often, yes, provided the gates, posts and hinges are sound. Heavy timber gates may need reinforcing or rehanging first, and underground motors keep the look traditional.
What if there is a power cut?
Every system we install has a manual release, which we show you at handover. Battery backup can also keep many gates running for a time without mains power.
Do new school gates need planning permission in St Albans?
Often not. Permitted development allows school gates and fences up to two metres next to a road, provided the part above one metre does not block drivers’ view so as to cause danger. Listed buildings and some conservation areas with Article 4 directions are different, so check with St Albans City and District Council first.
Talk to us about access control for your St Albans property
Tell us about your property and we will arrange a visit, talk through design and planning, and give you honest advice. Call 0116 236 6044 or email info@accesscontrolsolutions.co.uk to book.
Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5.30pm · Friday 8.30am to 5pm
