VIDEO: East Lindsey District Council joins shared CCTV project

The new ‘monitoring arrangements’ will begin from the middle of next year and will see the council’s using Boston’s recently upgraded CCTV control room. The arrangement, ELDC says, is set to save the council more than £160,000 per year.

It will mean cameras in Alford, Chapel St Leonards, Horncastle, Ingoldmells, Louth, Mablethorpe and Skegness will be able to be monitored from the same place.

East Lindsey District Council has said it is investing £425,000 to upgrade the 97 CCTV cameras on its network to high definition and installing a wireless infrastructure to submit images.

It says it will continue to pay for the CCTV monitoring network in its district and make a contribution towards the Control Room operating costs, with town and parish councils maintaining the upgraded cameras in their area as they do now.

Portfolio Holder for Partnership and Community Safety, Councillor Graham Marsh, said: “East Lindsey and Boston Councils already work closely on community safety and this is an extension of our existing arrangement so makes total sense.

“As well as providing a more resilient service, the new high definition cameras will be monitored through one of the most advanced Control Rooms in the country by a team of highly skilled operators.

“This creative approach bucks the national trend where the future of many CCTV systems across the country are being brought into question.”

Boston and East Lindsey Districts already share the same Operational Commander at Lincolnshire Police and work together in the East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership.

Chairman of the Partnership and Chief Executive at Boston Borough Council Phil Drury, said: “This is an example of best use of new technology and partnership working to improve services and save on costs at the same time. CCTV is a proven tool for prevention and detection of crime and for the security of the public in which they have confidence. It is reassuring for all that councils working together can continue to support that confidence.”