Security doors and physical security in Reading

Few places outside London concentrate as many data centres as the Thames Valley, and Reading’s business parks and transport interchange add their own demands. We supply and install rated security doors, windows, blast protection, vehicle barriers and specialist shielding across the city.

• LPS 1175 door ratingsSR2 to SR5 forced entry
• dB rated RF shieldingFaraday cages and shielded rooms
• PAS 68 ratedVehicle barriers for forecourts
• FB4-FB7 protectionBallistic classes to EN 1522

Data centres and what they specify

Reading sits at the centre of one of the UK’s largest data centre clusters, and these buildings layer their protection from the fence line inward. Security gates and sliding vehicle gates control vehicle entry, security portals and pedestrian speed gates manage staff flow, and LPS 1175 security doors rated SR3 (C5), five minutes against crowbars, drills and chisels, protect halls, plant rooms and battery stores. Some facilities add electromagnetic and RF shielding: shielded rooms and Faraday cages are specified by attenuation in dB over a frequency range, and EMP shielding also needs filtered power and signal entries. The data centres page explains how these layers are zoned.

Business parks and commercial campuses

The business parks around the town combine headquarters offices, research units and light industrial space. Entrance control matters most here: revolving security doors on main lobbies, turnstiles on staff entrances, and security doors at LPS 1175 SR2 (B3), three minutes against hand tools such as screwdrivers, pliers and hand saws, on server rooms and plant areas. Ground-floor glazing near car parks takes blast resistant glass laminated and matched to its frame, with hazard ratings from A (no break) to F (high hazard). Forecourts and drop-off lanes take HVM street furniture where the public realm meets the building line. The vehicle impact ratings guide explains PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ISO 22343-1:2023.

The transport interchange

Reading’s station is one of the busiest interchanges outside London, with forecourts, taxi ranks and bus stops pressed against the building. Hostile vehicle mitigation on the vehicle approaches is the first measure, tested against vehicle mass and speed, commonly 48, 64 or 80 km/h. Inside, ticket halls and back-of-house corridors take LPS 1175 security doors, and retail units take security shutters and roller doors for out-of-hours protection. The transport hubs page covers station zoning in more detail.

Reading sites at a glance

Data centres are specified from the fence inward. Agree the perimeter, entrance and hall ratings as one layered design before any doorset is ordered.

Planning and installation in Reading

Reading’s commercial stock is mostly modern, so planning constraints are lighter than in historic cities, though town centre conservation areas still apply. ArxBridge supplies and installs across Reading and the Thames Valley: we survey the site, agree the ratings with your team, manufacture the doorsets and shielding to size, and fit them with minimal disruption to live buildings. The installation service covers phased programmes for occupied data centres and stations.