At the start of 2026 PSi caught up with Gate Safe founder Richard Jackson OBE to discuss 15 years of campaigning for safer automated and manual gates plus royal recognition in 2025
What was the reaction when you first started the campaign?
From the initial inception of Gate Safe back in 2010, we were warned by a high-profile lobbyist of the perils of battling bureaucracy to try and instigate change and the lonely road that we would face when it comes to actually requesting action rather than words from key stakeholders. Oh, how right they were!
Has there been a specific frustration throughout the 15 years of campaigning?
We are regularly asked what legislation or standards are in place to support the need to adopt the recommended safety protocols we put forward. And although we stand by our original view that all gate safety measures should be in response to a detailed risk assessment, we do reference the need for legal compliance and where relevant, refer to the British Standards framework. But without anyone to police either the legality of an automated gate or its adherence to the standards, it is still possible for so many installations to fall foul of best practice. Effectively, if there are no consequences to a failure to follow through on the guidance, unless there is an accident, for many, there is simply no urgent call for action.
HSE remains reactive, rather than proactive and since we started Gate Safe, they have not introduced any new initiatives to address the safety of automated gates. And even if they did, we have been told on countless occasion that they do not have the resources to implement further measures.
So, despite industry-wide recognition, instigating change from key stakeholders remains an uphill task?
For years we’ve been on the receiving end of an apparent apathy within government departments and enforcement authorities to literally step up to the plate. Our request for action either falls on deaf ears or more often than not, our conversations go full circle as one department places the responsibility on another and we are passed from one team to the next.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Awareness levels of the need to acknowledge that these installations represent machines and therefore carry clear risks if not installed and maintained correctly has improved dramatically. I’d estimate that 80% of installers now have a far greater appreciation of the steps that must be taken to ensure the safety of an automated gate.
What would you say were the key achievements of Gate Safe in 2025?
During 2025 we’re proud to have logged a number of achievements including:
- The number of delegates taking the Gate Safe training is increasing and within that, there is a positive uptake on refresher training which is a mandatory requirement for Gate Safe installers. The register is now circa 4,000 with a good national spread
- Gate Safe’s Safe School Gates initiative is gathering momentum with an impressive array of organisations showing their support for this campaign, designed to improve automated gate safety amongst some of the more vulnerable members of society
- During 2025 we have begun to gain traction with the insurance sector, which represents a long-standing goal for Gate Safe and it is our sincere hope that insurance surveyors will be able to play a vital role in identifying unsafe gates – which would then not be eligible for insurance. After all, if you are not permitted to insure an unsafe car, why should there be any difference when considering an automated gate – which is also a machine capable of inflicting serious injury or worse
What are your aspirations for 2026?
We’ve got a busy year ahead of us. We will be progressing our Safe School Gates campaign with a trip to Westminster in January to hold a roundtable hosted by Sojan Joseph MP with representatives from a range of stakeholders in attendance. Despite being passed from pillar to post, we remain undefeated and committed to working with Ofsted and Department for Education to improve the safety of gates in an educational setting.
We will continue in our mission to bring to the attention of the relevant authorities, the amount of government money that is being wasted on the installation of unsafe gates in local authority settings, with no regard for the importance of safety by design.
You had a personal reason to celebrate in 2025. How was that?
I have had the honour of being awarded an OBE, in recognition of the services undertaken in relation to the “Improvement of the Safety of Automated Gates”. When I set up Gate Safe in 2010 never in my wildest dreams did I believe that our campaigning would lead to this accolade.
I’m proud of the trailblazing work that the Gate Safe team has put in and the impact that we’ve made, which has I’m sure resulted in reducing the number of accidents. There can be no greater satisfaction than knowing that we’ve played a part in helping to save lives …
Rest assured, we will not be resting on our laurels but will continue to lobby for safer gates throughout 2026.
