The Center Parcs site at Elveden Forest village in Suffolk recently underwent a multi-million pound rebuild following a fire in April 2002.
Center Parcs turned to retail security firm Checkpoint Meto because they needed the re-building project to fit in with the natural environment of the village and to appear unobtrusive to guests.It was also time sensitive to get the village back up and running for its July re-opening and so needed a project team that could deliver on time. Trend and Plaza 3rd Generation models have been installed at all five retail outlets to offer unparalleled protection against shrinkage.3rd Generation is a radio frequency electronic article surveillance (RF EAS) technology from Checkpoint providing point of sale efficiency and goods tracking and detection, the makers say.CCTV equipment is also in place around the site to keep an eye on all important health and safety issues, particularly in the pool and leisure areas. The CCTV system – where Checkpoint worked with Sanyo to install the equipment – used 17,000 m of cable to complete the job and is run using 57 cameras, 30 of which are day-night PTZ high speed domes, mainly using Sanyo VCC-4592P day-night cameras. The camera constantly senses the prevailing light levels and automatically changes to day or night mode.During the day the VCC-4592P produces high quality colour images but at night the camera switches to black and white mode.
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The system is digital and is run on a CAT 5 structured network which totally eliminates picture interference and provides a significant amount of spare capacity for a future system expansion at very little cost. There are three separate control positions where the systems can be operated; two on the main site and one 1.6 kilometres away at the arrivals lodge. Checkpoint designed a special washable label for the towels and robes used in the ‘Aqua Sana’ area.The label has a mini optical coil encapsulated in resin which is then sealed in a plastic pouch.These were then attached to the towels and robes to stop them going astray.
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What they say
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Neil Matthews, managing director of Checkpoint Systems UK, says: ‘Center Parcs posed many challenges for Checkpoint as it was a huge job covering all three of our business areas; EAS, CCTV and labelling.It has been a pleasure to work with a company which is such a forward thinker in terms of security requirements.Not only has the company chosen the 3rd Generation range of EAS antennas but by installing Checkpoint systems such as CCTV for all security needs, they have recognised how the different elements can work together to achieve all round protection.’ CCTV cameras have another function. Neil Matthews says: ‘We have three cameras installed in the main activity hall which cover an event called 56;Leap of Faith57; where customers pay to jump off a high platform. The cameras are connected to digital hard disk recorders which record a series of frames as people jump; these photos are then printed off using a Checkpoint colour printer and are available to buy should the customer want a souvenir of their bravery!’
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Susie Malcolm-Barclay, senior buyer at Center Parcs, says: ‘We chose Checkpoint as their RF technology encapsulated everything the newly refurbished Elveden Forest village stands for; modern, forward-thinking and revolutionary.The 3rd Generation systems will provide us with the latest in shrinkage protection and the CCTV will help us easily monitor everything that is happening around the site.’
