Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
22nd January 2025 Issue no. 737

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ASSA ABLOY Door Group supplies doorsets for Birmingham University Station rebuild

Door Group, a unit of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, has supplied construction company VolkerFitzpatrick with a bespoke package of internal and external doors as part of a project to rebuild University Station in Birmingham. 

The station serves the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Women's Hospital, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as part of the Cross-City Line and is the only mainline railway station in Great Britain built specifically to serve a university. The project is led by Transport for West Midlands and the West Midlands Rail Executive, to improve access, offer greater capacity, better facilities, and ease of use.

University Station is an open space that accommodates large numbers of the public, but also features several restricted areas for staff. In these instances, all doors must withstand high levels of traffic and allow for easy access and egress, while keeping staff safe in the event of an attack.

VolkerFitzpatrick came to Door Group looking for a compliant solution for internal timber and external steel doors at the site. Door Group delivered a fire-compliant solution with doorsets that boasted certified security ratings.

 Working with the Associated Architects, the specification team at Door Group helped create an objective and accurate door hardware schedule for VolkerFitzpatrick, to prepare specification briefs and design complete door-opening solutions.  

The Safeguard doors specified provide LPS 1175 security standards to SR3 & SR4 classification. The certification tests the resistance to unauthorised access offered by physical security products. 

The Safeguard range is designed to significantly reduce the ability of forced entry using both mechanical and powered tools, rigorously tested using heavy-duty mechanical and powered tools, with a fire rating of up to one-hour as standard. 

Phil Wood MCIOB, Senior Project Manager at VolkerFitzpatrick, explains: “ASSA ABLOY Door Group helped us on this project with their two-pronged approach, not only specifying a compliant solution but also fitting the doors.  

“When it comes to a building like University Station that has a high footfall, we needed a safe and secure solution for the public that could withstand heavy traffic.”

Karl Ravenscroft, Contracts Manager at Door Group, added: “We were delighted to work with VolkerFitzpatrick on this project, delivering a compliant solution with certified fire and security ratings. 

“Our specification team worked closely with the architects to develop an initial blueprint for the client. From that, we were able to ascertain the best possible solution that fits the LPS 1175 standard.”

For more information on ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions, please visit https://bit.ly/3gGLU3R. 

To read more about the project go to: https://wmre.org.uk/university-station/

1st November 2023