A Guide To Choosing The Right Portable Gatehouse Building
Portable gatehouse buildings are versatile and often vital security resources for locations such as festivals, building sites, or large agricultural settings. They can be used to sell tickets, screen deliveries, monitor site access, and more. Here’s a guide to choosing the right portable gatehouse for your business or event.
Assess your needs
The first point to consider is the primary function of the gatehouse, such as a security monitoring station, ticket office, or delivery screening and registering point? They can also serve other functions, such as medical centres, breakout rooms, hygiene facilities, pop-up shops, and much more.
The primary purpose of the building will determine other factors such as the size and features. Also consider if you want to hire or buy the portable building. This will probably depend on the projected length of use and whether you want to transport the building between different sites.
It may be possible to arrange a deal so that you can spread the cost of buying, or hire the building initially with an option to buy in the future if the use takes on a more permanent nature.
Determine the size
Gatehouses are traditionally small kiosks of around 7ft x 7ft in size, but they can be adapted to a building of almost any size. Consider if you need extra storage space, or facilities such as a kitchenette, office space, changing rooms, toilets, and so on. How many staff will be using the space, and what the primary purpose of their work will be?
Installations
It’s important to consider the logistics of the delivery, such as access points of the proposed location for the building. For example, are there any narrow gateways, rough or steep terrain, or overhanging trees or cables that will obstruct the access? The portable building will need a base of firm level ground for safe installation.
Check with the supplier exactly what type of material the base should be, such as a concrete pad. Find out if the supplier will install the gatehouse and set up features such as electricity and water supply, or if you will need to handle this process yourself.
Consider the level of security you need
Security is a priority for gatehouse buildings, which are highly visible and may contain security monitoring equipment, cash, or other valuables. It’s also important to protect staff who may be interacting with the general public or visitors who are attempting to gain unauthorised access to the site.
Consider the nature of the site and the location; for example is it in a high crime risk area, or a sector that attracts a lot of theft, such as construction? In this case, you might consider including anti-vandal features such as steel shutters and reinforced steel doors. This will make them less vulnerable to damage and break-ins.
The cabin can be integrated with other security features such as CCTV cameras, reinforced glazing, alarms, and tamper-proof locks.
Customisable options
You may wish to include features such as coloured cladding and exterior branding to align the gatehouse with your corporate identity, or to make it a visible feature on a large site, or to blend it in with the surrounding environment.
Connection to the utilities and wiring for electronics and data communications will probably also be a priority for safe and convenient use of the building. Also consider if you need heating and cooling systems for the comfort of your staff, or/and to maintain the condition of stored materials.
Planning permission
The current legislation for planning permission for portable buildings states that permission is required for buildings with a surface area of more than 100 metres square, or if it will be in place for more than 28 days.
Therefore if you are hiring a kiosk for a temporary event you may not need planning permission, although it’s best to check with the local authority as legislation may vary or can be updated.
Furthermore, exclusions may apply if the site is in a conservation area. Bear in mind that planning applications can take up to 12 weeks to be processed, so it is important to get this in place well in advance of a planned event.
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