Invercargill CBD, South City and Stirling Point in Bluff will have the majority of Stage One CCTV up and running by Christmas as work starts to help make the city safer.
Council has committed $2.3 million for Stage One, to investigate and install CCTV across parts of Invercargill and Bluff after requests from the community and Police.
Work has started on installing underground cabling in parts of the city, which will allow all 68 cameras to be directly hardwired to the fibre network.
Stage one of the project will involve installing CCTV within the Tay St-Gala St-Queens DrLeven St boundary, South City, and Stirling Point in Bluff.
Stage two would involve scoping the wider Invercargill area for further potential CCTV placements.
Council Group Manager Infrastructure Erin Moogan said South City and Bluff had been incorporated into the first stage at the request of the community.
“There was an overwhelming want for these two communities to have CCTV along with the CBD. We have heard what they’ve been saying and have adjusted our plans accordingly.
“The Bluff community has been asking for CCTV at Stirling Point for some time now after the glass panels were vandalised on several different occasions and we are pleased that we can now provide this for them,” Moogan said.
“Having CCTV in our community is to act as a preventative measure. Our community can have peace of mind that their safety is front of mind for us.”
While Invercargill City Council was the owner of the CCTV, Police would be able to access real-time footage. However, they would be required to request past footage if needed.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark said he was pleased to see the CCTV project under way.
“This is something the community has been wanting for some time now. All aspects of the project have been agreed on and we can now get to the next steps in keeping our community safe.
“This is designed to support and protect our community.”
The first cameras have started being installed but will not be online until fully commissioned.
Invercargill City Council Project Manager Daniel Wilkinson, Invercargill City Mayor Nobby Clark and Southland Police Area Commander Inspector Mike Bowman.
