Bury Business Against Crime (BBAC) has handed ownership and management of the scheme to the locally based communications experts after the Town Centre Management (TCM) team which previously owned it ceased operation. The move will see membership and two-way radio hire fees reduced for BBAC members which include local businesses and key town centre stakeholders such as Bury Council, Greater Manchester Police and security teams at both the Mill Gate and The Rock retail and leisure developments.
They will also benefit from the inclusion of maintenance repairs and servicing within the management fee and more streamlined administration as technical issues are reported directly to Pennine.
Explaining the partnership’s choice of Pennine Bury Council’s Ged McGee said: “We needed to find a new home for the radio scheme following the demise of Town Centre Management. Pennine were put forward because BBAC always enjoyed a good working relationship with the company after they supplied, installed and maintained the original system. The agreement means that the scheme is kept in trusted hands and that members enjoy not just lower costs but also get radio maintenance included.”
Pennine’s radio expertise and experience was also a factor with the company already providing two-way radio systems to The Rock and Mill Gate locally, as well as The Trafford Centre. It also supports Bury Council’s Community Safety Team with both two-way radio and wireless CCTV solutions.
Since its founding as the Townlink Radio Scheme in 1998 the system has proven a vital tool in the prevention and detection of crime and anti-social behaviour in the town. When it was re-launched by TCM in 2009 it had 24 members but now has over 70 two-way radios located across the town centre’s retail and evening entertainment venues.
It works by providing an early warning system and closed method of communication, with system members’ Entel handportable radios connected via a Motorola base station. They also connect to town centre control rooms which manage private and public CCTV networks. This allows information about incidents to be swiftly shared between retailers, security teams and the police so that offenders may be more readily identified and apprehended.
Steve Ryan, Pennine Telecom’s Radio Communication Director, said the company was delighted to have taken on the BBAC scheme. “As a Bury business whose directors and staff live locally we were already hugely supportive of an initiative which makes the town a safer and more welcoming environment in which to work, shop and relax. It’s great to now be at its helm and assist BBAC members’ in minimising crime and anti-social behaviour.”