A case study of a motorway service station designed to reflect its local landscape. Gloucester Services in the Cotswold countryside is on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty. The buildings and petrol station are covered in grass and local stone has been extensively used, in the hope the project will achieve BREEAM Excellent rating.
The project, opened in the summer of 2014, was initiated by a local Gloucester charity, Gloucestershire Gateway Trust and is between junctions 11a and 12 of the M5. The physical security product manufacturer ASSA ABLOY, Security Solutions designed the complete specification providing ASSA ABLOY, ASSA and UNION products.
Joshua Jackson, Facilities Special Projects Manager for Westmorland, the company who own and operate the services said: “The Gloucester Services project has created something you wouldn’t expect to find on a motorway. No franchises, no big brands, but instead a sense of where you are – a sense of place, homemade food and farm shops that work with the local area. It is a green project, so it was fundamental that we worked with manufacturers who make sustainability part of their business philosophy and as a company that manufacture in the UK with an active CSR [corporate social responsibility] programme, ASSA ABLOY proved to be one of these companies.”
UNION’s emergency exit devices and Codehandle have been installed throughout, for keyless locking and unlocking of interior doors, so that authorised staff can access restricted areas. Codehandle can provide a separate code for different shift patterns, which can be changed, so the administrator can prevent access to a single group at any time.
Alongside ASSA’s modular locks, its P600 patented six-pin cylinders have been installed, which the makers say can handle complex master key systems on one key profile, crucial for the 24 hour nature of the services where different key holders will require access to pre-designed doors at any time. Based on a patented new pin, the P600 affords protection against bumping and picking, which reduces the risk of theft.
Stainless steel pull handles, cylinder rings, signage, and lever handles from the ASSA Scanflex range were also installed around the service station. Also supplied were fully finished timber doorsets, with DC300A rack and pinion closers and 4200 series floor springs. With up to 60 minutes of fire resistance the doorsets were installed at the buildings’ main access routes.
Allan Thomson, Commercial Manager for ASSA ABLOY, Security Solutions, said: “It is brilliant to be part of such an innovative project, where a business is working closely with a charity to understand how the locals want the new service station to appear, as well as feeding some profits back in to the community.
The sustainability aspect of this project fits in with our ethos at ASSA ABLOY, as we are committed to providing products and services that are environmentally sound throughout the entire production process and the product lifecycle.”
Visit – www.assaabloy.co.uk/securitysolutions.
