The Client
Gloucester City Homes is an independent registered housing association managing thousands of homes across Gloucester. Its portfolio includes rented, leasehold and shared ownership properties, providing affordable housing and community support services throughout the city.
The Challenge
Gloucester City Homes was operating an access control system reliant on GSM dial-up modems connected via standard telephone lines. This legacy infrastructure significantly restricted the organisation’s ability to manage access permissions efficiently and respond quickly to operational demands.
Any amendments to key fob permissions or system updates could only be undertaken by a limited number of central administrators. With more than 4,500 active key fobs across multiple residential schemes, this created delays, reduced flexibility and increased administrative pressure.
Gloucester City Homes required a scalable and future-ready solution that would strengthen access control, improve oversight and enable secure remote management without disrupting residents during implementation.
The Solution
A full upgrade to a PAC 512 access control platform was designed and delivered, replacing the outdated dial-up technology with secure mobile data connectivity and integration with PAC Residential Cloud.
All legacy controllers were replaced with modern PAC 512 units, providing improved processing capability. The installation was carefully phased across sites to maintain continuity of service and minimise any disruption to residents. Each system was fully commissioned and tested before final switchover.
Integration with PAC Residential Cloud provided Gloucester City Homes with secure remote access via desktop and mobile devices. This enabled real-time visibility of system activity, remote unlocking where required, rapid diagnostics and immediate updates to key fob permissions.
The new platform established a centrally controlled and secure access management system capable of supporting the scale and operational complexity of Gloucester City Homes’ portfolio.
The Results
The upgraded access control system has delivered significant improvements in operational performance. Lost or compromised key fobs can now be deactivated immediately, reducing risk to residents and strengthening building security.
Housing management teams now have full visibility of system status and access events, enabling faster identification of faults as well as a more efficient response. The ability to manage multiple schemes remotely has reduced reliance on physical site visits, improving responsiveness while lowering administrative and maintenance overheads.
The installation has provided Gloucester City Homes with a reliable, scalable and future-proof access control infrastructure that strengthens security and supports long-term portfolio management.
The Key Product
PAC 512 Access Control System with PAC Residential Cloud