A £700,000 project to upgrade the borough’s CCTV control centre has been delayed after an air conditioning unit fell onto a painter who was working on the project.
Dacorum Borough Council says the revamped scheme will save the taxpayer money by using wireless technology, rather than using ‘expensive and restrictive’ cabling.
The council has already been working on the move – which will eventually see the CCTV system managed from a new control unit in Hemel Hempstead’s Cupid Green depot – for nine months.
The Redbourn Road development has been slowed after an insurance claim was launched against the council by the injured painter.
The council says it has conducted an internal investigation into the accident and notified the Health and Safety Executive about it.
Residents’ services manager Julie Still accepted there have been delays – but said they have not raised costs and that no completion date was ever set for the project.
She said: “We considered various options for the most effective delivery of the project, including an option of a mast on the KD tower building in Hemel Hempstead. No contracts were entered into until decisions were made as the project progressed. We are transferring the CCTV systems in stages to the new control centre and parts of the system are already up and operational at Cupid Green.”
The council uses CCTV to monitor strategically chosen parts of the borough 24/7 in order to protect public safety and provide evidence for criminal prosecutions. Firms can also pay the council to monitor their alarm systems.
Julie Still said: “This is a large, technical project and our main focus is to get it right, not get it done quickly.
“Our aim is to have completely moved the operation of CCTV from Hemel Hempstead Civic Centre by the time Dacorum Borough Council vacate that building in June 2014.”
