On High Fencing and Security to Keep Trespassers Out

When I had our car-park and entrance to our headquarters designed and constructed, I had no idea at the time that the design itself resemebled many features a skateboard park has: smooth ramps of varying angles for accessibility purposes, small stairways (ideal for jumps), and even what I would call a "quarter-pipe" (a smooth quarter circle of concrete that rose from the car-park to the grassy entrance-way to the building).

It didn't take long for word to get around. CCTV cameras would reveal quite a show every evening: dozens of skateboarders scooterers, and even inline skaters would make use of the elaborate "skate park" I had inadvertently created for them. They would congregate there for hours and leave so much rubbish. We left noticeboards with all kinds of threats of prosecution if people dared to trespass on our premises. They ignored these signs - to be honest, I think it added kudos that such an area was explicitly forbidden to enter.

It was when I saw graffiti scrawled all over our office wall that I had to put my foot down hard. I had very high fencing erected with barbed wire at the top. Nobody was getting over that, nor cutting through the steel wire fencing. And quite literally, nobody did climb over it. I also had a security point with barriers added to the road entrance - there was no way in other than by car, and only then if our guards let you in. It's a shame it had to come to this, but the car-park design and entrance was for easier access to our building, not for any other purpose.

Just recently though, I had two of my younger members ask if they could skateboard in the carpark before work....I told them not a chance...."elf and safety says no".


Article kindly provided by fencinginguildford.co.uk