The plans would need to be given the go-ahead by Birmingham City Council in order to proceed. 

 

The Rackhams department store was fully opened in 1966. Legal and General bought the site in 2015, and when House of Fraser was taken over by Sports Direct it was earmarked for closure. However, in October 2018, staff stated that the building had been saved from closure. 

 

Here is a statement about the way that these changes altered the plans for the premises: 

 

"At the beginning of the process, the project team worked on the basis that a department store would remain but in a compressed footprint as it was no longer sustainable trading at its current size.

 

However efforts to incorporate the store ceased once its closure was announced in 2018.

 

Once the entire building was available to re-purpose, the project team focused on transforming the building for other uses and other potential future tenants.

 

To ensure that it is future-proofed, a diverse tenancy mix that targets a vibrant combination of different uses was sought for the building.

 

"It was envisaged that a broad range of complementary uses would ensure a balanced mixed-use development remaining active throughout the day and evening.

 

The inclusion of 43 Temple Row also allows the development to be further strengthened with hotel use provision on-site."

 

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Most complex, multi-use premises with several different businesses and industries working side-by-side recognise the need for a visitor management system. However, many companies do not feel the need to invest in technology for this purpose, and so use paper visitor books and plastic badges to sign new people in and out of the premises. There are several problems with these strategies, from the unprotected data (anyone can leaf through previous entries), to the security/fire safety concern of people forgetting to sign out after their visit, and the eternal struggle to read visitors’ handwriting.

 

At Time and Attendance Midlands we have the perfect visitor management solution: our Management of Contractors and Visitors Software (MCVS). This web-based application allows you to book visitor and contractor appointments in advance. Once appointments are booked, both parties receive a notification email with the details. 

 

This sort of system can be tied into an access control system at many different points in the building’s security. For example, only pre-booked visitors could get into the car park, or their face could be added to a facial recognition system via an emailed photograph and programmed into the system so that they can only enter the doors they are supposed to be going through. 

 

If the appointment is for a visitor or contractor who needs to go around alone, our MCVS provides a Welfare Check page to set up welfare notification reminders. These reminders (an on screen popup or an email) prompt the host to perform a safety check on the lone worker. 

This means that you are kept up to date and there can be no ambiguity about location. A history of checks performed and acknowledged is also recorded for audit purposes.