Access control can benefit companies and buildings of all sizes.
Leave a CommentThe area to the north of Cardiff Central train station has undergone extensive development over several years, and is preparing to house many new occupants by the end of the year. Here is a broad summary of the buildings and companies involved.
No. 2 Central Square
This building has been fully let to the law firm Hugh James and Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (Jomec).
Hugh James will be using around 100,000 sq ft, and the university school has the rest of the office space. Their leases are for 25 years at an annual rent of about £25 per square foot of space.
Jomec will be moving into the building from mid-September, before the students enrol on September 24, and the Hugh James law firm will be moving in on October 22.
BBC Headquarters
The Foster & Partners designed building is split over five storeys and totals 180,000 sq ft. The BBC has signed up to a 20-year lease for the building with its owner Legal & General at an initial cost of around £4m a year with a rent review every five years.
As is common with property deals of this scale, the public service broadcaster will have an initial rent free period.
A BBC Wales spokesperson said:
"Staff [approximately 1,200] will begin the move to the new building in the autumn of 2019 and it will be fully operational in 2020.”
About 9000 square feet of space is available for retail rent. Tesco, Greggs, Boots and Pret a Manger have been lined up to occupy the space.
The Interchange
This building will offer new office space and 300 private residential apartments as well as a new bus station with 14 stands within a concourse area of more than 10,000 sq ft, as well as a cycle hub for 144 bikes. There are six retail units planned for the ground floor.
The office and apartment space are not due to finish construction until midway through 2021, but the buas station could possibly be operational in late 2020.
Above the bus station there is 100,000 sq ft of office space rising to six storeys, which is already attracting interest from potential inward investment projects into Wales.
HMRC Headquarters
The HMRC intends to move into its new HQ at Central Square in 2020, in the first phase of a public sector hub that will employ 4,000 people.
HMRC, which currently has its main tax office in Wales in the Llanishen area of Cardiff, has signed up to a new 266,000 sq ft building in a major pre-let deal.
The 12 storey building, which will be known as 6 Central Square, is currently being built by construction firm Robert McAlpine.
The move is part of a property rationalisation programme which will deliver over £1bn of savings to the taxpayer, free up land for housing and reduce UK Government buildings from 800 to around 200 by 2022.
No. 5 Central Square
This new building will be on the site of St David’s House and work on demolishing the unattractive 120, 000 sq ft building will begin in January with contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.
Planning permitted, the site has been earmarked for a new 150,000 sq ft grade A office scheme and a public square.
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From the control of a single internal door through to a fully computerised, multi-site network of control points, a Tensor Access Control System is the solution.
Operated by contactless smart cards, key fobs or biometrics, a Tensor Access Control System gives you full control over who is allowed access through any controlled point at any time of any day, placing it at the forefront of security solutions.
Tensor Access Control Systems are modular in design, and can be adapted and extended to integrate with a time and attendance system seamlessly and without complication.
The WinAC.NET system will adapt easily to your specific security environment, whether you need to secure a large, multi-site facility, or a smaller installation with a few doors. In fact, the Tensor Access Control System’s modularity allows it to easily scale up as your operations grow.
With WinAC.NET and Tensor’s range of readers, you can control most standard types of internal and external electronic, magnetic door releases and devices, making full use of location points, whether in full view or hidden out of sight, providing access even in the most adverse conditions.
An extensive range of equipment, devices and releases can be connected to your security network, which can be operated through your access control software including:
• alarms and hooters
• break glass buttons
• door locks
• door release buttons
• electro-mangnetic door locks
• fingerprint readers
• CCTV cameras
• scanners
The WinAC.NET includes a wide range of time and money-saving features, such as:
• Access Control Profiles easily created or customised to suit your particular site, and can be varied minute-by-minute
• Real Time (near) graphical display shows doors being opened / closed, those with alarm status set and forced entry
• Doors may be configured to open automatically on fire alarms and lock automatically on burglar alarms
• Anti Pass Back facility limits the same card being used by more than one person
• CCTV Tracking of video clips showing “evidence quality” footage of forced entries, alarm events, users of Smart Cards gaining access or being denied
• Door/Barrier Access can be limited depending on the persons’ roll call status
• Resilient System keeps running even when certain cables are cut or damaged or PC networks fail
• Sensor Monitoring to detect forced entry
• Audit Trail showing who gained access (or denied) at any location at any time
• Biometric dermal fingerprint reading for maximum security and personnel authentication
• Hardware Device Manager allows easy adding & editing of hardware device profiles
With our Access Control Software you can be assured that you will receive a simple to use, highly secure way of controlling access to areas or buildings, as well as monitoring who is present 24 hours a day.
Additional features are available for the WinAC.NET Business/Enterprise editions which can be implemented on your access control system to take into account diversity with access rules between individual organisations.
Ceredigion Council has scooped an amazing five prizes at the Loo of the Year Awards and was also awarded a Champions League Standards of Excellence Award, the only authority in Wales to win the accolade. The council’s Cabinet member for transport, waste and carbon management, Cllr Alun Williams, said: 
A garage has been robbed at Pontnewydd. Two men stole both a car and cash at the Hyundai dealership in Cwmbran, Torfaen, at about 18:10 GMT on Tuesday. Gwent Police reported that the duo approached a filling station attendant outside the Colley Motor Group garage and then led him inside. The worker was not hurt and police are hunting a grey Hyundai i10 with the registration number CN59 NXY. Anyone who saw anything suspicious is asked to call 101.
An arrest has been made on suspicion of arson following a bus depot fire at Newport. The alarm was raised at 02:55 GMT on Monday last week at the premises on Corporation Road. Firefighters from Malpas, Maindee and Duffryn were called, along with a water bowser from Cwmbran. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said they took just under an hour to deal with the blaze. Three buses and a training vehicle were lost in the incident on Corporation Road.
Leighton Mark Williams, who has links in the Caerphilly area, left Prescoed prison without permission on Sunday (December 2). Police say the public should not approach Williams who is not a registered sex offender, but officers believe there may be a potential risk. Members of the public who spot Williams are advised not to approach him but to call police if they have any information on 101 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 
Newport Crown Court heard how a man was robbed and hurt in a Caldicot pub toilet. Clifford Lewis was shoved against a wall as he was using a urinal at the Good Measure pub, in Caldicot, on June 3 this year, after he refused to give up his wallet. Mr Lewis fought back against his attacker and during the melee a sink was smashed, but he had to eventually relinquish his wallet as he lay on the floor defenceless.