New CIOB Guidance Puts Gate and Access Compliance Back on the Client's Desk

A managing agent we work with in Virginia Water asked us recently whether their entrance gates at a mixed-use development would need re-certifying under the Building Safety Act. It's the sort of question that used to get a vague answer, but the Chartered Institute of Building has just published a free guide aimed at exactly that gap — helping anyone commissioning building work on behalf of a business, charity or public body understand what the Building Safety Act 2022 actually requires of them as a client, not just their contractor.

The guide includes a checklist clients are expected to work through before a project starts: confirming the competence of the people they're appointing, setting out how compliance will be managed, and checking whether the building in question falls into the high-risk category. For anyone specifying automated gates, barriers or access control on a commercial or communal residential site, that checklist lands squarely on our side of the fence too, because we're often the ones being asked to demonstrate that an installation meets current standards.

In practice that means force limits and safety edges tested to BS EN 12453, photocell beams positioned to catch anyone in the gate's path, and clear signage and manual release in case of power failure — none of it optional on a shared driveway or a gated development where residents, visitors and delivery drivers are all passing through daily. We install in timber, steel and aluminium depending on the site, and steel-framed gates on the heavier commercial jobs generally need a beefier motor and a properly rated foundation, not just a bolt-down bracket, if they're going to hold up to years of daily cycling.

It's a useful reminder that compliance isn't a box you tick once at handover. Gates and barriers get serviced, force settings drift, and a system that passed inspection three years ago on a development in Cobham or Gerrards Cross isn't automatically compliant today without a re-check.

We've been installing and maintaining electric gates and garage doors across Ascot, Cobham, Windsor and the wider Berkshire and Surrey area for more than twenty years, for both residential and commercial clients. If you need an existing installation assessed against current safety standards, or you're planning a new entrance system, get in touch through candbtechnical.co.uk.

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