Chelmsford is a working city. Businesses operate across the High Chelmer retail centre, the business parks to the east, and the industrial estates stretching out toward the M25 corridor. Many of the owners and managers responsible for those premises are not on site when access decisions need to be made – a landlord managing a block from London, a facilities manager covering three sites at once, a business owner at a client meeting across the county. That gap is the access management problem a door entry system is built to solve. The decision-maker may be anywhere. The door is in Chelmsford.
We are a local, family-run security company that cares about your security, based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. We have over 25 years of experience in the design and installation of door entry systems across Chelmsford and the wider county.
The Access Problem Chelmsford’s Commercial Profile Creates
Chelmsford is home to more than 8,000 registered businesses, with over 20,000 across the broader CM postcode area – the majority small enterprises, according to Business Time in Essex. Chelmsford Business Park is a 40-acre, 350,000 sq ft development. High Chelmer Shopping Centre handles around 9 million visitors annually across 80-plus retailers. Bond Street adds 25-plus premium retail brands. Springfield Business Park and Waltham Road Industrial Estate extend the city’s commercial footprint further east.
That scale matters because Chelmsford’s dominant commercial crime types are shoplifting and organised retail crime (ORC) – not break-ins through the front door. Police.uk data puts Chelmsford’s burglary rate below the national average – and the city’s commercial crime profile is telling in what it reveals about where the real risk sits. The real exposure is at the service entrance. The access gaps are structural. A propped delivery door. A staff corridor with no credential control. A loading bay on a physical key that former staff may still hold. These are the entry points that facilitate retail-side loss. A video door entry installation on back-of-house entrances provides identity confirmation and an audit trail at the exact point the crime profile demands it.
For facilities managers responsible for multiple Chelmsford sites, the problem scales further. Without consistent Access Control at each premises, the weakest entry point becomes the exposure point. For offsite landlords, the problem is structural. When a tenant vacates or access permissions change, the landlord needs to act without travelling back from London. A fob (an electronic key that unlocks a door by proximity) can be deactivated remotely. A proximity reader – a sensor at the door that detects the fob’s signal – handles the credential update without a locksmith and without rekeying physical locks.
Which System Is Right for Your Premises?
The answer depends on your building type and how access decisions have to be made.
Video door entry with proximity fob control is the lead system for most Chelmsford commercial and multi-occupancy applications. A camera and intercom unit at the entrance feeds a monitor inside – whoever is inside can see and speak with a visitor before releasing the door. Fob credentials are managed electronically, so staff changes and tenancy transitions don’t require a locksmith.
Smart intercom systems with mobile app access route visitor calls to a smartphone. The landlord managing a Chelmsford block from London can see who is at the door and grant entry without being on site. For offsite property managers, this is the difference between a building that can respond to access requests remotely and one that cannot.
Audio door intercom systems are the practical solution for smaller premises. An SME office suite where video is not required or a staff-only service entrance where credential control is the priority. Confirm presence, permit entry. Simple.
We design every system after a free site survey – not from a product catalogue. Call 01702 467850 to arrange a visit.
Legislation That Applies to Your Door Entry Installation
Three pieces of legislation apply directly to door entry at commercial premises in Chelmsford. (Informational overview only – your specific obligations depend on your premises and use.)
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Article 14(2)(f) requires that emergency doors must not be locked in a way that prevents easy and immediate use in an emergency. Electronically-locked doors on escape routes must be capable of releasing to meet this duty. A fail-safe release – a mechanism that unlocks the door automatically when power is removed – is the standard implementation. We specify fail-safe releases on escape route doors as standard. Technical guidance sits in Approved Document B and BS 7273-4; the legal duty is Article 14.
Equality Act 2010, Section 20 creates an anticipatory duty for service providers and employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. For door entry: door opening force, call-point height, lever hardware and powered door specification where required. BS 8300 provides the technical guidance.
UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to any video door entry system that captures images of identifiable visitors. Under ICO guidance, you need a lawful basis for processing, compliant signage at the entry point, a defined retention period and a process for subject access requests. Address this before installation, not after.
Why Businesses in Chelmsford Choose Eastern Security
Many door entry installers will quote you a system, list a few brand names and move on.
No commission-based sales – our staff focus on designing the right system. NOT the most expensive. We send engineers to survey, not salespeople to upsell.
There is no substitute for professional knowledge earned the hard way… through extensive experience! That experience tells us when a single-door audio intercom is the right answer – and when an IP-networked video system is what your operation actually needs.
We offer rapid call-outs in an emergency and responsive maintenance teams. We are SSAIB-approved for Intruder Alarm Systems and CCTV. The same DBS-checked engineering team carries out our door entry installations.
What does that look like in practice? A trustworthy and reliable service from friendly engineers who will fix any technical issues the same day… if possible. If humanly possible, we will!
Every engineer who visits your Chelmsford premises introduces themselves, explains what they are doing and leaves the site clean. Our engineers are trusted, polite and customer-focused on every visit.
“I’ve been a customer of Eastern Security for many years now and can confirm that each time there is a visit from one of the Engineers whether that is for an Annual Maintenance or a new Installation, you are greeted with a timely/prompt Engineer who introduce themselves politely and professionally. No question has ever been too much trouble (even repeated ones!), I can honestly recommend for anyone wishing to have a House Alarm, CCTV, Door Entry both Home and Commercial.”
– Mike, Leigh-on-Sea, Home & Business Owner
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of door entry system can be installed at commercial premises?
We install audio intercoms, video door entry systems and IP-networked door entry with proximity fob control. The right system depends on your premises, your access requirements and your budget – we assess all three at a free site survey before recommending anything.
Is Eastern Security qualified to design and install door entry systems?
Yes. We have over 25 years of experience in door entry design and installation across Essex and London. We are SSAIB-approved for Intruder Alarm Systems and CCTV. The same engineering team carries out our door entry installations. BS EN 62820-1-1:2016+A11:2021 is the active standard for building intercom systems; for higher-risk commercial settings, BS EN IEC 62820-2:2018 covers Advanced Security Building Intercom Systems.
How often should a door entry system be serviced?
An annual Security System maintenance visit is the baseline for most commercial installations, covering the entry unit, lock mechanism, wiring, credential system and any fail-safe release. Higher-use premises may benefit from more frequent servicing. We advise on the right interval at the point of survey and commissioning.
Can a door entry system integrate with our existing CCTV?
In most cases, yes. Modern IP-networked door entry systems can be configured alongside existing commercial CCTV Systems so that a door entry event triggers a camera recording and access logs can be reviewed alongside footage. We assess compatibility at the free site survey and tell you honestly what is and is not achievable.
What solution works best for a purpose-built block with an offsite landlord?
A smart intercom with proximity fob control and remote management. Visitor calls route to a smartphone – you can see who is at the door and grant entry without being on site. Fob deactivation is handled remotely when a tenancy ends, removing the rekeying cost. For a Chelmsford landlord managing stock from London, the credential management savings alone make the specification easy to justify.
How does door entry help manage contractor and delivery access at business parks?
A video door entry system on contractor and delivery entrances creates a verification point and an audit trail that a key-based system cannot provide. Temporary fob credentials can be issued for a contractor’s engagement period and deactivated when work is complete. At multi-tenanted sites like Chelmsford Business Park and Springfield Business Park, that audit trail is what a facilities manager needs to demonstrate access accountability across their estate.
Book a Free Site Survey in Chelmsford
Call 01702 467850 to book a free site survey. We visit, assess and recommend – and the right system will save you time, money & hassle.
We cover Chelmsford and the surrounding Essex area from our base in Southend-on-Sea – a unit at Waltham Road Industrial Estate, a retail space at Bond Street, and an office suite at Springfield Business Park.
Our engineers are professional, knowledgable and friendly on every visit. We are only ever a phone call away.
Find out more about our door entry systems, Access Control Systems and commercial Security Services across Essex.
