Waking Watch case study
St Paul’s Place at 40 St Paul’s Square is a historic Birmingham factory converted to mixed use, with private apartments and penthouses on its upper floors. Centrick needed waking watch while remedial works were carried out. We have staffed one officer on days and one on nights since 1 April 2026.
St Paul’s Place, at 40 St Paul’s Square in Birmingham, is a historic factory converted into a modern mixed-use building. High-end private apartments, including multi-bedroom flats and penthouses, occupy the upper floors.
Centrick needed waking watch cover in place while remedial works and upgrades were carried out on site, as the interim measure set out in the building’s Fire Risk Assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
We have provided waking watch cover since 1 April 2026, running for the duration of the remedial works and upgrade programme.
The building is staffed with one officer on days and one on nights, on a four-on, four-off rota, so cover is continuous and the same team returns to a building they know.
Those numbers were set by the site’s Fire Risk Assessment. Converted heritage buildings rarely behave like purpose-built blocks, which is exactly why NFCC guidance calls for a building-by-building judgement rather than a fixed ratio.
Officers are fire-marshal certified and trained in fire awareness and evacuation, uniformed and identifiable to residents, and carry radios linking them to the building’s management team and, where needed, the fire and rescue service.
The watch has been in place since April 2026 and remains ongoing while the remedial works progress.
The Fire Risk Assessment is kept under review throughout, in line with NFCC guidance that waking watch is a short-term measure under active review rather than an indefinite arrangement.
St Paul’s Place at 40 St Paul’s Square is a historic factory converted into mixed use, with private apartments and penthouses on the upper floors. Conversions frequently reveal compartmentation and detection issues that a modern build would not have. Waking watch was put in place as the interim measure set out in the building’s Fire Risk Assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
One officer on days and one on nights, four on four off, running since 1 April 2026 for the duration of the remedial works. Officers are trained in fire awareness and evacuation, uniformed and identifiable, and carry two-way radios to stay in contact with the building’s management team and, where required, the fire and rescue service.
It remains in place while the remedial works and upgrade programme continue, with the Fire Risk Assessment kept under regular review as they progress. NFCC guidance is explicit that a waking watch should be a short-term measure under active review, so the cover is reassessed as the works advance rather than simply left running.
Reviewed by Emma Walker, Group Managing Director. Published · updated .
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The service
This engagement was delivered by our waking watch team. Read how the service works, what it covers and how it is staffed on our waking watch and fire safety services page.
The area
We work across Birmingham and the surrounding region. See the sites, sectors and services we cover in Birmingham.
Further reading
Working out whether this fits your own site? Our guide to what a waking watch costs, and what the alternative costs covers the numbers and the standards in more detail.
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