Alleygating
 |
The British Crime Survey (Budd, T 1999) has shown that in over half of all house burglaries, entry is made through the rear of the property. Therefore the security of the rear boundary wall is vitally important in terms of burglary prevention. In 2004, New Deal For Communities and Salford City Council’s Housing Market Renewal and Burglary Reduction Teams instigated a project that would install 79 gates on 26 alleyways, benefiting more than 1000 homes across Lower Kersal and Charlestown. |
Alleygating involves putting gates on alleyway entrances. Only residents on that alleyway can have a key. Each alleyway has different locks and keys.
In addition to reducing burglaries, alleyway closures can also reduce:
- The number of escape routes for offenders, including vandals and joy riders
- The fear of crime – residents feel safer when their property is protected
- Fly tipping – once gates are installed, tipping can only occur from within the alley. It then becomes much easier to identify the culprits and find a solution
- Dog fouling – any culprits can only come from inside the alley
- Anti-social behaviour – the closure of the alley reduces the number of hiding places for people to hang out and cause disturbances to residents
|
Gating can provide a private space – projects have been developed to create alley gardens or plays spaces away from the road, NDC have developed an alleygating toolkit, which has been designed to support local residents to form small community groups to turn neglected alleyways into shared community spaces. Officers worked closely with residents and the Police to design bespoke gates that would compliment the properties and match the railings and gates of the block improvement projects. |
 |
The Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment carried out by Keegans in 2003 highlighted the fact that a high percentage of householders were either disabled, elderly or infirm.
Officers from SCC Housing Market Renewal Team Working for NDC recognised that the traditional locking system used for Alleygating would be difficult to use. A fit for purpose alternative was designed and implemented on all our gates.
The Police have recognised our project as an example of best practice and say they are proud to be associated with it.
 |
The alleygating project has been seen as a great success in NDC on many different levels. Crime statistics have dropped considerably in alley gated areas with reduced levels of damage, anti-social behaviour and burglary. To date there have been no burglaries to occupied properties within gated alleyways. |
|
Residents remark as to how they now socialise with people that they hardly knew and some that they had never met. One such alleyway is now home to The Beeley Street garden group, who have already won a top award, from the Royal Horticultural Society and another from the Conservation Foundation. The Garden Group were also the subject of a television programme recently screened on Channel m. |
|
This page was last updated on 28 September 2009
