A MAJOR revamp of Lowestoft's outdated CCTV network has been given the go-ahead.As revealed in last week's Journal, Waveney District Council is planning to strengthen the town's CCTV system, with three new cameras already online and two others to be reinstated.

A MAJOR revamp of Lowestoft's outdated CCTV network has been given the go-ahead.

As revealed in last week's Journal, Waveney District Council is planning to strengthen the town's CCTV system, with three new cameras already online and two others to be reinstated. Thos proposals were approved by the cabinet last Thursday.

Private partner operator Waveney Norse will now run the CCTV system, with the existing control room at Compass Street moving to the Rotterdam Road Depot. This will also lead to a merger with central control, another 24-hour service operated by the council.

New security cameras were installed around the town last Friday. They are located at the clock in London Road North, by East Point Pavilion's toilet block and on the corner of the Suffolk Road/Station Square junction on the former Tuttles building.

'This offers improved views of Suffolk Road, London Road North and Denmark Road,' a Waveney spokesman said. 'Two security cameras, which were previously removed during the development of the Sunrise Scheme have now been re-instated and a further three have been installed with the help of around �120,000 funding through the Sunrise Scheme.'

This now means that the camera outside Poundstretcher (at the London Road North- Milton Road East junction) has been reinstated and the camera on the Winelodge building in Victoria Terrace replaces the one removed from a pole outside the building.

Stephen Ardley, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing and chairman of the Waveney Norse Partnership Board said: 'We are delighted that this project has been given the go-ahead. These changes will increase public confidence and enable us to meet the high expectations of partners such as the police.

'The issues of crime reduction, anti-social behaviour and community safety are important to us all, particularly those who are most vulnerable, he added. The new cameras, that went live last week, will be linking in with the line of sight from existing ones, picking up blind spots and creating the potential for the introduction of additional cameras as the town develops. We are now in a better position for our switch to digital equipment and for future plans to extend the service where it is most needed,' he concluded.

As revealed in last week's Journal, the plan is to transfer the management of CCTV to Waveney Norse on April 1, as works to relocate the service to the depot and the merger with central control set to take place during June or July this year.

APPROVAL was also given for a six-week consultation period on the updated Area Action Plan (AAP) for Lake Lothing and Lowestoft's Outer Harbour at last week's cabinet meeting. These 'policies and strategic sites' will be looked at during the consultation period, which is likely to run between April and June.