A ‘transformational’ contract will see the building and management of Edinburgh’s new CCTV Control Centre, forming part of the Council’s vision to create a Smart City Operation Facility

The hope is that this will provide a holistic view of the city by utilising the latest technology to drive operational efficiencies, improve security and analyse trends.

Set for completion in September 2022, the new Control Centre will see the provision of high-definition CCTV cameras, expanded security coverage, and the introduction of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence that can provide situational awareness and predict and alert new and existing threats.

The project will see North intelligently integrate the security system with traffic and transportation platforms to enhance the management of city operations. It will improve efficiency, quickly identify and address issues, provide simple and rapid retrieval of footage, and integrate with remote security systems that are currently not connected to the existing Control Room.

The Edinburgh CCTV control centre will allow for better city planning and will be able to provide a richer view of how people interact with the urban environment – whether on foot, bicycle or vehicle.

Edinburgh has big ambitions in becoming a world-leading Smart City – a digitally inclusive, data-rich and sustainable city with services that are easily accessible by all of our residents no matter where they are in the city, or what their circumstances are, says Edinburgh Council Depute Leader, Cammy Day.

He added: “We’re looking to deliver a more digitally-enabled proactive service to help make everyone’s lives in our Scottish Capital better and so we can continue our work towards ending poverty, meeting our net zero targets and improving wellbeing for all.

“With this Smart City partnership with North we’re looking to make transformative differences to the way we manage our city – gathering real-time intelligence to improve safety on our streets, manage services more effectively and better serve the wellbeing of our residents.”

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North’s solution could allow for future integration with other smart technologies such as air quality sensors, smart parking applications, flood sensors to detect water levels, and intelligent camera analytics to monitor low emission zones.

Community engagement has also been factored into the project with North providing apprenticeship opportunities, work experience placements and volunteer schemes to support the delivery of the contract, including working with local communities and organisations.

The City Operations Capability project is jointly funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme known as ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City’.

Edinburgh is one of the seven Scottish cities collaboratively working toward becoming a world leading Smart City. Supported by the Scottish Cities Alliance, a partnership of Scotland’s seven city local authorities and the Scottish Government, £48.2m, including £20.3m of ERDF support, is being invested in the programme.

Edinburgh CCTV control centre project with North also forms part of Edinburgh’s 2050 City Vision strategy, to become ‘the’ world leading Smart City, using technology to make day to day life simpler, greener and more connected while reducing carbon emissions to coincide with the Capital’s net zero carbon by 2030 ambitions.

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