Electronic security is the new must-have, but is it a symptom of a neurotic society, asks Jonny Beardsall
A few centuries ago, gated communities were commonplace in England. We used to call them castles.
But now, some 21st-century builders would have us believe that life behind an electronic barricade will be as essential for peace of mind as a moat and a portcullis. They claim that the gates will deter unwanted elements, slow the traffic and make those who live behind them feel more secure. But what will it do for the soul of the nation?
The Limes is a daisy-fresh new build in the centre of South Milford, a North Yorkshire village between Wetherby and Selby. It was here that an 18th-century undesirable, Dick Turpin, spent a night on his famous ride from London to York.
The estate is a leafy cul-de-sac set in the former gardens, tennis courts and grounds of a large country house, which was purchased - then demolished - by the developer, David Wilson Homes.
There is still a gate in the original entrance; the difference is that this one will open and close at the touch of a keypad. So where there was one mansion in two acres, there will soon be 14 four- and five-bedroom executive homes priced at between £625,000 and £775,000.
The village's population of 4,000 will increase by another 50 - which should mean extra custom for its three pubs, three restaurants, two village stores, post office and railway station. Sounds idyllic - so why all the security?
"The gate will reassure those who live here," says Sue Smout at David Wilson. "Anyone who comes through it is invited - if you're a delivery man, you press a button and wait. Homeowners can even open it remotely using a mobile phone. The homes are bound to appeal to couples with small children."
But South Milford is not crime-ridden Johannesburg. Why worry potential buyers and risk alienating the wider community by encouraging people to live separate lives behind a gate? In Shipley, on the banks of the Leeds Bradford canal, developer Andrew Mason of Newmason Properties insists that they have their place.
He defends his electric gates at Victoria Mills, an exciting mix of redevelopment and new-build in a 137-year-old mill complex.
"It's a cracking idea in some places but not in others," he says. "In this old mill scenario, it lends itself because it was always a gated workplace for a lot of people. We'll have 448 apartments here as well as shops, a gym, saunas and tennis courts, so it will have the feel of a community with around 700 people living here."
But won't they feel isolated? "Not at all - they'll embrace the local community but will feel comfortable when they are back in their own private space," he says.
One expert who disagrees is Dominic Church, a senior policy adviser for urban design and homes at the lobby group CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment).
"New developments which are gated and therefore socially segregated exclude the wider community and don't create inclusive and cohesive communities," he says. "Without the informal interaction that a shared open space offers, residents in gated communities will begin to lead separate lives." His views are underlined by the designer Wayne Hemingway, the founder of the fashion company Red or Dead and now a partner in HemingwayDesign, which is working on five housing developments around the country, all of them without gates.
"The concept of gating people off goes against all the traditional planning ideals about housing mixed communities," says Hemingway, who first made his name in the property world on Tyneside with Staiths South Bank, a mass-market housing project for George Wimpey Homes.
"There's no need to be barricaded away in a country like this and it's a sad indictment of society that anyone should want to be."
Not that these sentiments are affecting sales at The Limes. To date, three of the seven homes in the first phase have been sold and the remaining seven will be finished and marketed shortly.
"We've had a lot of interest from professional couples for whom security was undoubtedly a major issue," says Daryll Digpal of Wetherby agent Beadnall Copley, which is handling the sales.
Mark Woods and his wife, Paula, will be the first couple to move in.
"The idea of the gate did appeal to us because we have two young children and it offers a certain peace of mind," says Woods, a company director from Leeds.
"That said, it's not why we want to live here. We probably more appreciate the big garden and the fact that I can get to work by train."