The Alleygaters Guide to Gating Alleys – still snapping away!

Not many people know this, but I take a little pride in the fact that I was the guy who wrote the first ever guide about Alleygating -The Alleygaters Guide to Gating Alleys; a campaign to gate access paths running to the rear of terraced properties to prevent burglary and other crimes.  I was not, however, the ‘inventor’ of Alleygating, as while I was embarking on my first trial project in Drayton Green in West London in 1991 another project was already well underway in Watford.  Here, the project was led by Lynne Walker, the co-ordinator of the local Neighbourhood Watch.  The results of both our schemes came in at about the same time and, along with much research conducted since then, proved that alleyway gating has been one of the most effective ways of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour around terraced housing.

During my research for the many Alleygating projects I ran I in fact discovered that neither I nor Lynne were the ‘inventors’ as old drawings from various planning offices revealed that the original architects for these developments had included gates at the alleyway entrances, which often matched the design of the railings on the dwarf walls in front of the homes. ‘There’s nothing new under the sun’ is so true!  And it is clear to me that even back in the 1880s to the 1930s when many of these terraces were built, the architects knew full well that there was a crime risk and were responsible enough to provide the security up-front.  A lesson for our architects today, I think!   

So, for posterity and a little help, I have today provided two links in the library from where you can download copies of my original 1994 guide, published by ACPO, and the updated version I wrote in 2000 with my friend and colleague Patrick Cogan, published by The Metropolitan Police.

I am hoping to finish my work on a new section for alleyway gating later this year, but in the meantime you can take a look at Terraced Housing and Back Alleyways on this site for some help in respect to the design of the gates.  Although a little dated, both the downloadable guides are still relevant and will be helpful should you wish to pursue an Alleygating project in your area.

It’s difficult to know how many gates have actually been installed around the UK, but the last estimate I heard was 14,000.  That’s a lot of gates and a lot of prevented burglaries!!

Keep ‘em peeled

Calvin