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Supported by Dr Pieter Viljoen, Kingswood CEO Willem Jacobs, operations manager Piet van Heerden and maintenance manager Mornay Stoop, and access control specialist Caron Manchest, Security subcommittee chair Gerrit ‘Fielies’ Nieuwoudt says this team and their respective crews have been making a success of projects tackled, no matter what the challenges
Looking back
Balancing available funds with resources to be spent on keeping KGE residents safe is as much of the subcommittee’s focus as the physical implementation of security projects. So Fielies is proud to confirm that all projects achieved during 2025 have been done within that financial framework. ‘Our 2026 budget has already been approved and will kick off in January.
Residents have been kept abreast of projects in the pipeline through fortnightly reports disseminated by Piet van Heerden. This task will next year be taken over by our new liaison officer, soon to land in the saddle at the KGE management offices.’ One of the matters discussed at length in the previous edition was contractor access, but – after months of operating with face-recognition and related technology – a picture of seamless access control at the contractors’ gate emerged.
There was also mention of the security control room moving from its temporary container to be resettled at the gatehouse once this building had been repurposed. ‘For now, the control room remains in its container but will eventually be moved to what used to be our golf cart garage,’ says Fielies, reminding that this security hub is operational 24/7.
Significant stats
KGE comprises 763 stands, 638 on which building has been concluded. Permanent perimeter fibre fence coverage has increased significantly since the last edition, when 400m was reported at Phase 1 and 900m at Phase 2 (viz: currently Phase 4 East has 487m of coverage, and Phase 4 West 850m, with 1,394m of coverage on the Proefplaas border).
Homeowners and golf members accessing the estate via the Gallagher app totalled 50,137 during October (compared to 46,066 in April), while over 24,000 visitors entered via the My Estate Life app. Service providers and construction workers totalled 9,787 (April: 9,592), while turnstile walk-ins hit an all-time high at 61,667 (April: 21,536).
Ongoing projects include camera equipment points that cover a major portion of the estate’s 9.6km perimeter, kiosks reticulated with power and fibre cable, and data communication points that lead to the server room located alongside the contractors’ gate, to which it’s connected with Wi-Fi equipment and network cables.
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Looking ahead
When discussing the 2026 plan to manage the movement of golf members and restaurant guests, Fielies elaborates on new technology that picks up number plates and tracks them throughout the estate to ensure that visitors are heading in the right direction.
‘Traffic management in 2026 and beyond, considering an ever-increasing number of visitors to the clubhouse and community centre, will be of utmost importance. Already, there’s a marked hike in people traversing the estate, and subsequently, residents have been suggesting the installation of booms.
‘While this practice is outmoded, it is also physically impossible with constraints including the fact that it requires the broadening of roads, for which there’s simply no space. So the next option now in the process of development is traffic control measures (ANPR cameras with LED screens),’ says Fielies.
The first of these will operate at Knightsbridge, the second at the gatehouse complex, and the third at the start of Brookeside near the clubhouse. When golf players or diners, and guests enter, their IDs will be read at the gate as per normal.
‘The Gallagher app can handle these entries for limited access, in and out, but when visitors get to one of the traffic control points, there will be an LED display identifying them about 10m behind the light. Drivers’ names will literally come up in lights, indicating whether they are on the right track or required to leave the area.
It’s very personal.’ Fielies says this tech, when acquired from its current source abroad, is extremely costly. ‘So, we’re in the process of testing to see if locally produced cameras can be programmed to talk to Gallagher. We’re waiting for the boffins to write that software and, once integration is successful, we will implement it for the final test phase.’
Finally, the security risk we’ve run when golfers crossing from George Golf Club to Kingswood, using their private keys and sometimes forgetting to lock behind them, has now been resolved. This gate can now only be used by those registered on the Gallagher app.
Keeping it safe but simple
Apart from this plan to find lost or errant drivers and escort them from the estate, Fielies says projects to continue throughout 2026 include the expansion of cameras on the perimeter fence and laying of fibre – ‘donkey work that takes time, but necessary to achieve our goal of total security.’
His team believes in sticking to one simple rule: ‘We know that no security measures are foolproof, but our main aim is to keep Kingswood above the curve. Our systems must be such that no one wants to even consider giving it a bash. And so far so good.’ Fielies concludes: ‘The current system’s deterrent level is so high that we’ve experienced no significant incidents. Of the 45 times that a squad had to check out possible intrusions, in each case it turned out to be either a porcupine or a branch disturbing sensors on the fence.’
Residents are urged to report any suspicious behaviour to the control room on
Landline: 087 537 9733
mobile/WhatsApp: 083 522 0731;
Gate 1: 044 874 6877
Gate 2: 044 874 4797
Gate 3: 044 874 4597
