Next step taken to bring £2m new CCTV system to Blackpool

Following a tendering process, AD Systems based on Squires Gate Lane in South Shore has secured the contract.

It is the next step in the process to upgrade system which is seen as key to protecting public safety, including from future terrorist threats.

The contract will include relocating the CCTV control room from the empty former Bonny Street police station to a new site in Municipal Buildings on Corporation Street, enabling the resort to have an incident coordinaton centre.

It also includes ongoing maintenance and support for up to four years.

A council report says: “The existing CCTV system is based on analogue technology and is in need of modernisation, in order to bring it in line with modern Internet Protocol (IP) CCTV current technology systems.

“The other important factor is that parts of the old system are becoming more and more difficult to access.

“A great deal of the equipment and screens within the control room are coming to the end of their natural life, which accounts for numerous problems being experienced.”

The council unveiled plans in September to invest £2m in upgrading the CCTV system including almost quadrupling the number of cameras monitoring the town centre and Promenade from 92 to 346.

Cameras will have 360 degree vision while more than 100 speakers will be attached to CCTV columns capable of delivering public safety messages.

It was revealed 12 months ago that Blackpool’s CCTV system needed a major overhaul due to the technology becoming obsolete.

Updated technology will improve the quality of images captured and enable police and enforcement officers to access them more quickly.

It is also proposed to buy a mobile CCTV unit linked to the new control room for use at events, hot spot areas and for emergency incidents.

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