Jacksons Fencing secures defence assets at Portsmouth Naval Base
Princess Royal Jetty is the berth for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest ever surface warship built for the Royal Navy. Jacksons successfully completed the works in time for the vessel to set sail from her new home for the first time in October 2017.
Significant infrastructure works were carried out in 2017 at Portsmouth Naval Base in order to modernise facilities and prepare for the arrival of the Royal Navy’s two new 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
BAE Systems identified Jacksons Fencing to provide the high-security and access solutions at a number of locations on the naval base, including end-to-end specification and installation of onsite fencing, without the need for third party involvement. The project called for Jacksons Fencing’s expertise as the site houses extremely valuable defence assets and is a lively operating base for 120,000 visitors annually and 15,000 daily workers.
Princess Royal Jetty needed to be secured from the rest of the naval base. Jacksons Fencing installed 440 metres of its Trident Securi-Mesh System as well as one large sliding gate, five manual double leaf swing gates and six turnstiles. To maintain the integrity of its protection capabilities, the fencing system is overlapped by a minimum of 75mm at the posts. It has clamp bar fixings to provide additional resistance to penetration attempts, and anti-climb design to prevent potential intruders from bypassing the perimeter from above. It also has clamp bar fixings and anti-climb design. Jacksons completed the works in time for the new aircraft carrier to set sail from its new home dock in late October 2017.
At Trafalgar Gate, the main entrance and pass office to the naval base, the existing fencing needed to be replaced. Jacksons Fencing installed 220 metres of the Trident Securi-Mesh System fencing as well as turnstiles as part of this refurbishment.
HMS Warrior 1860 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is open to members of the public and tourists, who are welcomed aboard the Warrior for an interactive, historical and educational experience. The publically accessible site has a separate entrance at the Victory Gate and shares a beach border with the off-limits Naval Base. Consequently, high-quality fencing was required to ensure that the barrier between the general public areas and the Naval Base was not penetrable. Jacksons Fencing’s Trident Xtreme 3XM was installed on the beach and ran out into the sea. It was double galvanised and marine powder coated black to ensure it was protected from the elements. The Trident Xtreme 3XM system was chosen because it provides an immensely strong and rigid structure. It has vertical bars featuring a fully welded tubular stopped pale-through-rail construction with horizontal railed sleeved on to the upright posts with concealed fixings. Pale-through-rail design adds strength to the fencing and ensures that no bolts or palings can be removed or prised apart. The combination of its closely spaced pales, substantial wall thickness and novel cut-delay technology, is designed to frustrate and deter attempts to penetrate the fence. It provides good visibility which aids surveillance tools and incorporates anti-climb design.
