Council waives contract rules to keep CCTV cameras rolling

The Hereford Times can confirm that the exemption has been signed off at assistant director level to secure a two year contract  with BT worth £62,756 for the rental of fibre optics for CCTV transmissions.

That agreement, with BT Redcare,  covers CCTV cameras in Hereford, Ledbury, Leominster and Ross-on-Wye.

The council’s contract procedure rules state that for procurements of £1,000-£10,000 two quotes are required and for £10,000-£50,000 three quotes.

Anything above needs a formal tender unless exempted through “‘exceptional circumstances”.

The council says the requirements of the existing system and the potential for savings represent exceptional circumstances, with a two year contract representing the “best value”.

At present, BT fibre optics provide the only viable transmission links for the cameras in Ledbury, Leominster and Ross, and five cameras in Hereford.

The fibre optics serving the market towns were installed specifically to serve individual CCTV cameras by BT in the mid 1990s.

These fibre optics are owned by BT Redcare.

The council’s case is that, in order for the service to be provided, BT Redcare requires the annual rental of these circuits at £33,381 a year - with a six per cent discount on a two year contract.

Five circuits in Hereford were installed for additional cameras in the 2000s which were unable to be added to the city’s original microwave transmission scheme in Hereford.

The council says that to install circuits of its own that match the “quality” of BT fibre optics would be “cost prohibitive” where a return on the capital would not, on the council’s estimates, be met for at least 15 years - based on the annual cost of the BT fibres at £33,381 against a capital investment of £500,000.

Herefordshire CCTV has looked at installing its own IP network across the county.

This was ruled out in July last year with capital costs for a five year contract put at £64,189 and annual revenue costs estimated at £84,602.

Also considered was an IP based transmission method.

But this was not proceeded as the costs of providing necessary encoders, decoders and IP capable cameras across the county was estimated at between £500,000 and £600,000 with questions raised about the quality of images and camera movement.

 The council could save around £33,380 a year by not entering a new contract and decommissioning circuits for cameras that use BT fibre optics for transmission.

But this would prompt town council’s and the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust to withdraw service funding - which would, based on 2014/15 income figures, be £37,765 – while jeopardising grant income awarded by the Police and Crime Commissioner.

By entering into a two year contract with BT Redcare there is a six per cent discount that reduces the annual cost of the cameras to £31,378 - or £62,756 - over the two years, saving just over £4,000 in in total.

The CCTV control room became operational in late June 2003. It provides monitoring equipment for the 40 CCTV cameras in Hereford (23), Ledbury (5), Leominster (6) and Ross-on-Wye (6).

All cameras record 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the control room has radio access to the retail/pub/club radios for Hereford, Ledbury, Leominster and Ross.

The system also provides support to the council’s civil enforcement and community protection teams.

There is the capability of providing images to Hereford central police station West Mercia police HQ control room.

The annual running cost of the CCTV service is met through contributions from the West Mercia police and crime commissioner, Hereford city council, Hereford cathedral perpetual trust, Ledbury town council, Leominster town council and Ross-on-Wye town council.