Emergency control centre plan comes under fire

Feb 3 2010 by William Green, The Journal

PLANS for a single regional emergency control centre have come under fire after going hugely over-budget.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the project was diverting “scarce” resources amid cuts in front-line services – leaving council tax payers facing likely hikes in bills to pay for the mess.

Council chiefs have also warned the scheme to set up regional control centres faces becoming another “failed” Government IT project and alternatives must be considered to avoid services suffering.

Ministers insist moving from 46 existing emergency controls rooms to nine regional control centres will improve the nation’s “capability” to deal national crises like terrorism and flooding.

But technical problems have caused delays, while implementation costs have soared from £120m to £420m.

Different hubs are supposed to be able to handle 999 calls and mobilise resources from across the country. In the North East, this means replacing existing control centres in Morpeth, Newcastle, Durham and Hartlepool with a new HQ at Belmont, Durham.