Mansfield District Council is to replace its old fibre optic CCTV system with a wireless system. The Nottinghamshire council’s CCTV control room will get new energy efficient monitors in the upgrade. Meyertech, alongside the installer Baydale, is delivering recording and FUSION-Incident management and reporting software.
The upgrade, which will cost £524,000, has become necessary because much of the council’s equipment is nearing the end of its useful life, the council says. A delegated decision to replace the system was approved in July by Martyn Saxton, the council’s Head of Planning and Regulatory Services. Work to replace the old system began in August and take about six months. That work will include:
Replacing some cameras
Erecting wireless signal poles in some parks and open spaces
Refurbishing the control room with energy efficient split-screen monitors, a new IT system and a new recording system.
The council is expecting that the new wireless system will not only be able to offer CCTV security in previously hard-to-reach areas, but that it will also pay for itself within six years.
This will be due to savings made on not having to maintain the underground fibre optic cables and by offering local businesses, schools and other councils a paid-for CCTV monitoring and data management service. The council points to a number of contracts in place on the current system that off-set the cost of running the service. The council expects the wireless system to open up new markets because it will be capable of reaching different areas. The council says that it looked at alternatives such as keeping the current system, reducing it or out-sourcing the service.
The problem with keeping the old system was that it was expensive to run compared to wireless and there was a risk that the equipment would fail. Some of it, judged to have a life-span of seven years, was now 15 years old and parts to fix it were obsolete, making it impossible to repair. By upgrading, the council could continue offering at least the same level of service but at reduced running costs, and that with the income generated from selling the paid-for service, it should be possible to generate enough income to pay for the service.
Mick Barton, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, said: “With the age of the current system there is always an increased danger of the equipment failing – and then being impossible to repair.
“Replacing the fibre optics with a wireless system was really the only sensible option to deliver and effective CCTV service in the district. This system has the added bonus that it should eventually be self-financing by being able to generate some income for the council by offering it as a paid-for service to other councils and businesses in the area.”
Visit: http://www.mansfield.gov.uk/
