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£10million is to be spent upgrading Kent and Medway's speed cameras to make them more efficient

The plan is to take the cameras from a generation of ‘wet film operation’ and into the digital age.

The Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership (KMSCP) is looking for a company to carry out the work, and it has been put out for tender to find the best deal.

A speed camera
A speed camera

The partnership, made up of Medway Council, Kent County Council, Kent Police and Highways England, has set a budget of £10million for the work.

"Speed is a factor in crashes and if you are not speeding then your stopping distance is greatly improved." - KMSCP

A spokeswoman for the partnership said: “It will be a like-for-like replacement, of the 79 fixed and 56 mobile cameras across Kent and Medway.

“The cameras we have are getting old now. The films need to be manually taken out of each camera and people have to physically take them to be developed, which is time consuming and impractical.”

With the new technology, images can be sent immediately over the wireless network to the partnership. It means they will be more efficiently in issuing tickets and fines.

Speed camera stock image
Speed camera stock image

The spokeswoman added: “Cameras play a role in the reduction of casualties. Speed is a factor in crashes and if you are not speeding then your stopping distance is greatly improved.

“Every two years we do an operational review and have a look at all our cameras to make sure they are still working effectively. We remove those which are not, and place them somewhere more practical.”

The upgrades are not set to happen all at once, the cameras will be replaced one by one, over a number of years.

The number of drivers caught by mobile speed cameras has also increased
The number of drivers caught by mobile speed cameras has also increased

The £10million will be paid out in instalments over that time and is the partnership’s maximum budget. It may end up costing less but is promised not to cost more.

The partnership was keen to point out the money is not coming directly from council taxpayers.

Instead it is being funded by grants, including government grants, so taxpayers country-wide will foot the bill.

The deadline to submit a tender response is Monday, June 8.

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