We don’t have a branch in Bishop’s Stortford, and we won’t pretend to. Every gate is designed, forged and finished at our workshop — Unit 12, Hatfield Industrial Estate, Hertfordshire AL10 — and installed on-site by the same engineer who carried out the survey. Bishop’s Stortford sits within our standard travel area, so a site visit, delivery and installation are included, not added as extras once you've committed.
What that means in practice: one engineer, from the first sketch to the day the gate is commissioned — the same process described in full in our process chapter.
The brief was for the gate to disappear entirely into the garden wall when open — no ground track to interrupt the drive, no visible mechanism when the gate stood open. A cantilever system solved it: mild steel for strength, oak infill for warmth, sized to a 6-metre opening.
You’ll find this project, and others nearby, on our completed projects page — we haven’t yet written a full case study for this one the way we have for Knebworth, but the specification above is accurate to the finished installation.
There’s no single gate that suits every property in Bishop’s Stortford, and we wouldn’t claim otherwise from a template. What actually decides it is your own driveway: a wide opening with space to the side favours a cantilever or tracked slider, like the project above, because there’s no track to interrupt and nothing to maintain at ground level. A narrower opening with room behind it suits a traditional swing gate just as well.
That’s exactly the question a site visit answers in the first ten minutes — not something we’d guess from the town name. Our swing vs sliding guide covers the trade-offs in full, and our cost guide has the published price bands if you want a realistic figure before you call.
East Herts District Council doesn’t just permit driveway and entrance gate work in principle — recent decided applications in Bishop’s Stortford show it in practice:
New driveway, dropped kerb and vehicular access with a new gate
New metal railing and gate on the boundary wall
Both approved, both searchable yourself on East Herts’ public planning portal.
No — every gate is designed, forged and finished at our workshop in Hatfield, and installed on-site by the same engineer who surveyed it. We serve Bishop's Stortford as part of our regular working area, not from a local branch.
Yes. Site visits, delivery and installation are included within 25 miles of the Hatfield workshop; Bishop's Stortford falls within that. Anything genuinely further out is quoted per mile at the site visit, not added as a surprise later.
Usually not for a standard domestic gate — but the rules depend on height, whether the entrance sits next to a road, and whether the property has any listed or conservation status. Bishop’s Stortford’s local planning authority is East Herts District Council — Bishop’s Stortford Town Council is consulted on applications but isn’t the decision-maker. Our planning permission guide covers the actual thresholds, or check directly with East Herts before ordering.
It varies by property — width, driveway shape and material choice all matter more than location. A wide, low-maintenance entrance often points to a cantilever slider; a period property with a traditional approach usually suits a swing gate in wrought iron or steel. The site visit settles it either way.