New CCTV cameras to be fitted outside city magistrates
Three new CCTV cameras are to be installed in the street outside Wolverhampton Magistrates Court as part of an ongoing plan to update security measures throughout the building.
Council bosses this week granted listed building consent for the cameras to be fitted in Corporation Street, which runs along the side of the Grade II listed courts building and former Town Hall in North Street, following an application from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The existing CCTV camera system throughout the building is to be replaced as it is now beyond its servicable life, and maintenance and procurement of spare parts has become difficult. The three exterior cameras will focus on personnel entry doors and provide security coverage where ‘blind spots’ occur.
A report from design company Austin-Smith: Lord Ltd, acting on behalf of the MoJ, said: “The locations of individual cameras and the routes taken through the building – and building fabric – by cables connecting cameras to the security control room have been carefully considered to minimise their individual and collective impact on the appearance of the listed building.
“Following completion of the works, the site will have a suitable security camera installation for the protection of staff and visitors that can be maintained and will not require further enhancement or upgrade for the life of the equipment.
“The need for security surveillance for the protection of staff and visitors attending court is of paramount importance, and the reliance on an out-dated system that is difficult to maintain and doesn’t provide coverage to all parts of the building has only served to amplify this need.”
Opened in 1871 as a combined Town Hall and Magistrates Court, the front exterior of the building is an example of French Renaissance style architecture. One of the present courts – number 9 – is the original council chamber. The building remained in use as a Town Hall until the 1970s when it was converted into its present use.
