FELIXSTOWE: Firms around the edge of Britain’s biggest container port are today enjoying a huge boost in safety and security – thanks to a package of improvement work.

Landowners Trinity College, Cambridge, working in partnership with businesses on the 150-acre Trinity Distribution Park on the northern outskirts of the Port of Felixstowe, have installed a state-of-the-art closed-circuit TV system to give comprehensive monitoring of the area.

The park is home to shipping companies, warehouses, haulage yards and storage depots including Hutchison Whampoa, the Maersk Company, China Shipping and MSC, dealing with a huge proportion of the cargo coming into the UK.

Over the past few years landlords Trinity have been trying to overcome a series of problems – the main ones being traffic flows and crime.

With millions of pounds worth of goods being handled in the park, the area has been a target for thieves and there have been a number of lorry thefts over the years.

On the traffic side, one badly-parked truck can soon snarl up the area as around 300 lorries can arrive in 20 minutes, leading to serious congestion and tailbacks onto the A14.

At peak times – August and September when Christmas goods start to arrive – between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles a day use the park.

The work not only includes the nine-camera CCTV system, but improvements to street lighting and guards patrolling the area to take action against trucks and vehicles stopping illegally.

Tim Collins, of Bidwells, property manager for Trinity College, said occupiers of the sites in the park today expected 24-hour security cover.

He said: “The project is the result of many years of detailed planning by the project team and will contribute to providing a safer and more secure environment for our occupiers on this strategically important logistics park.

“The arrangements build on a successful traffic management operation which has been a key feature in ensuring the efficient operation of the park in recent years and will help to ensure that future growth projections can be successfully accommodated.

“The occupiers will notice the benefits, including a drop in their insurance premiums.”

The CCTV system includes automatic number plate recognition cameras.

n Do you run a business in the area and feel safer due to the new security system? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk