One New Change Shopping Centre - Case Study

In the heart of the City of London’s Square Mile

It’s clearly evident that when Land Securities Group PLC developed the One New Change shopping and office complex, creating something extraordinary was their objective.

The location in the heart of the City of London’s Square Mile, a stone’s throw from St Pauls Cathedral and bustling financial district, the striking and iconic design commissioned from the internationally renowned, Pritzker Prize winning architect, Jean Nouvel, the quality of the retail and restaurant areas and not least the welcoming atmosphere all attest to a design that works superbly in its location.

£533 million, 564,000 sq ft development

The £533 million, 564,000 sq ft development, comprising 222,000 sq ft of retail and 342,000 sq ft office space in an unusually low-rise, six-storey building of 34 metres in height, has been nicknamed the “stealth bomber”, with its dramatic angular lines and thousands of grey and red glass panes.

One New Change opened on 28th October 2010 with more than sixty shops and restaurants operating seven days a week and has quickly established itself as the destination for discerning shoppers and diners working and living in the City, as well as drawing visitors from outside of the area.

The main shopping and eating areas span three floors with four entrances at street level, connecting Cheapside to the north, Watling Street to the south, New Change to the west and Bread Street to the east.

Clive River, Security Shift Manager of MITIE

We met with Clive River, Security Shift Manager of MITIE, the company appointed by Land Securities to provide facilities management services at the prestigious restaurant One New Change building and Nicola Harget, Business Development Manager at PMR Products the KENWOOD dealer that supplied and installed the NEXEDGE digital two-way radio system. Nicola gives us some background behind the NEXEDGE system installed in the building: “We were briefed by Land Securities on the requirements for the radio system which needed to be installed and fully operational in August 2010 ahead of completion of the building. The building itself, while cloaked in glass, is in fact a huge steel and concrete superstructure and although the primary requirement was to have a system for use by the security, maintenance and cleaning teams in the retail and food areas, it also had to provide coverage in the underground loading areas and throughout the office accommodation.”

KENWOOD NEXEDGE & SafetyNet Digital Software

The KENWOOD NEXEDGE system installed by PMR Products comprises of forty five NX-300E4 hand portable walkie-talkies, battery chargers, two NX-810 base station repeaters, two NX-800E mobile radios which link the base stations between PMR Products CTR3500 interface and its SafetyNet management programme and finally, two antennas, one located below the roof line and the other in the basement. The entire radio communications system is housed in the large, fully equipped control centre and is managed by PMR Product’s customisable SafetyNet Digital software. SafetyNet was first introduced by PMR Products in 1995 and subsequently proven in use in one hundred and thirty prisons across the UK and over 50 retail and industrial applications, it provides security and operational enhancements to the radio network at One New Change including voice recording and tagging, status of all radios in use, polling of users for lone worker environments and remote stunning and revival of radios.

Creating a safe and vibrant environment free from the threat of crime and anti-social behaviour

At an operational level, One New Change poses several challenges as well. First, its prominent location at the heart of the City’s Square Mile demands extra-vigilant security measures against a wide range of threats that other locations may not face. Equally, the extended opening hours of the complex, operating seven days a week, and the fact that the thoroughfares from the four entrances to the building are open twenty-four hours a day, call for a robust and highly organised security management protocol.

 

MITIE’s security team at One New Change, led by Roy Bassom, the Security Service Delivery Manager, took on their role as the building neared completion in 2010 to test and bed-in their systems and processes, ensuring that a first-class security management operation would be in place from the day the building opened. He commented: “The key role for my team at One New Change is to provide tourists, shoppers, visitors and workers with a positive, memorable experience from the moment they walk through the door to the time they leave. It’s imperative that at every touch point opportunity, the service delivered is personal to each customer’s needs and reflects the high standards expected from Land Securities for One New Change.”

Clive goes on to say:

“We are extremely happy with the radio communications system installed in the building. It provides us with 98% coverage of the entire site, and the radio handsets are both easy to use and incredibly durable – at this point, Roy shows us his rather scarred radio – I can’t remember the number of times this radio has bounced off the floor, and it has never missed a beat. I’m also impressed with the battery life on the radios; we are getting 12 hours and more from a single charge”.

Radio Coverage

The radio system provides coverage beyond the site, enabling the team to reach team members on break in the event of an incident.

In conclusion, what does Clive think of the radio system designed and installed by PMR Products and the KENWOOD NEXEDGE digital two-way radio equipment in use?

“Reliable, effective radio communication is our lifeline to ensuring security and safety; it’s vital to our operation and our most important piece of kit. The system and equipment at One New Change do exactly what we want!”