£100,000 scheme to upgrade Lichfield CCTV system

Almost £100,000 is set to be spent on upgrading Lichfield's ageing CCTV system. Members of Lichfield District Council are to consider the plans at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The present system was installed in 1996 and there has been little investment in it since then. In a report to members, operational director Ruth Plant recommends approval is given for upgrade work to the city's CCTV control room, which is shared with the Three Spires shopping centre. She says the cost can be met from the council's budgets.

A new control room could have been built as part of the new £100 million Friarsgate shopping centre.

But Mrs Plant says uncertainty over the timing of the mothballed development means work should now concentrate on improving the existing facilities.

She suggests asking bosses at Three Spires shopping centre to share some of the costs.

"The possibility of shared services with other councils was considered," she says, "but there were no alternative options that would deliver better value for money than those currently in place."

She also recommends that the 13 CCTV cameras covering the city centre are upgraded - at additional cost - when funds allow.

The control room is also the nerve centre of the city's Storenet system, which links city centre shops via radio and is designed to prevent shoplifting, and the Pubwatch scheme, which links pubs and nightclubs.

It is estimated the CCTV system led to around 180 arrests last year, while the store and pub systems led to 111.

The proposed investment would see £25,000 spent on upgrading the control centre's operating system, £42,000 on moving to digital video recording, and £30,000 on the replacement of the centre's monitor screens.

A further £16,000 would be paid to security consultancy Optimum for preparing a new management system and managing the contract for the improvement works.

Each of the CCTV cameras would cost £3,000 to replace.

By Matt Nicholls