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| 01.09.07 BUSINESS PARK'S TALKING CCTV A 'FIRST' FOR FIFE TALKING surveillance cameras are to make-life safer for workers at a new £3,000,000 speculative office development at Halbeath Interchange in Dunfermline. The state-of-the-art audio CCTV system is airailai- to one that made national headlines about "scarecrow policing" after being trialled successfully in the centre of Middlesbrough. Leeds-based property developer Business Homes have installed the system at Halbeath Interchange and are installing the system on all 25 of current schemes being developed throughout the UK.Brian Robinson (right), development director for Business Homes in Scotland commented "Security is nowadays one of the major considerations for modern businesses. Our system at Halbeath will simply take this concern out of the equation." The security equipment is thought to the first of its kind to be used at a business park in Fife. Two-way loudspeakers attached to roving eye monitors are linked directly to a control centre in Blackburn. From there, operators can talk to out-of-hours visitors, warn off potential intruders and reprimand any anti-social behaviour, such as litter dropping. People working late at night can contact the control centre and ask for the outdoor lights to be switched on. They are then visually escorted to their cars and wished good night! The technology was used as a deterrent at Business Homes' Nottingham site earlier this year. Would-be thieves fled after an alerted camera boomed out in the dead of night and warned them off in no uncertain terms. A vehicle barrier with automatic number plate recognition technology is also being put in place and therefore no vehicular access can be gained out of hours unless you have the security code to open the barrier. Business Homes chairman Simon Houlston said: "We have been using high-tech security systems at a number of our sites across the UK for the past five years. This is not about Big Brother or scarecrow policing, it is about ensuring our customers and their staff feel safe at all times, and that is something you cannot put a price on." "From what I have been told, the equipment we have installed at Halbeath Interchange is the first of its kind at any business park in Fife." According to figures, Britain has 4.2 million CCTV cameras — one for every 14 people in the country. It has been calculated that each person is caught on camera an average of 300 times daily. Halbeath Interchange is strategically positioned fronting onto the M90 at Junction 3 at Dunfermline. The development is only a few minutes to the north of The Forth Road Bridge and offers office accommodation from 1200 sq ft upwards. Phase 1 of the development is now fully complete subject to final minor snagging works. |
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