Winsford Industrial Estate CCTV & ANPR

The Problem

Winsford Industrial Estate is one of the largest in Cheshire, home to hundreds of businesses across the Winsford 1–5 BID area. In 2011, security coverage was minimal — just three CCTV cameras — and the broadband connectivity across the estate was too slow and unreliable to support anything more ambitious.

Traditional providers had looked at the estate layout and the cost of running cable to every location, and walked away. Without proper connectivity, scaling the CCTV system wasn't viable.

The Solution

OneTek, based on the estate since 2008, took a different approach. Rather than wait for someone to lay fibre to every camera location, the team built a high-performance wireless network across the estate and connected each camera directly to it.

That wireless network became the foundation for everything that followed. As the estate's security needs grew, OneTek expanded the system in stages:

• 2012: CCTV cameras integrated onto the wireless network, replacing the original three-camera setup with broader coverage.
• 2015: ANPR cameras added at estate entrances, giving managers data on vehicle movements for the first time.
• 2022–2023 (Phase 2): A major expansion brought the system to 40+ CCTV cameras and 2 dedicated ANPR cameras, using the latest AI-enabled detection technology.

The same network now also delivers ultra-fast fibre broadband to businesses across the estate — connectivity and security running on one infrastructure, managed by one team.

The End Result

The system now captures 28,800 hours of footage every 30 days. AI-assisted monitoring highlights key objects — people, vehicles, incidents — so operators can review footage quickly rather than watching hours of empty car parks.

The ANPR data tells its own story. In a single two-month period (August–September 2023), the system matched 472,240 number plates against DVLA records. Of those, 419,924 vehicles had CO2-per-kilometre data available, allowing the BID to estimate carbon output across the estate — around 101,000 kg of CO2 over that period, based on an average 1.7 km journey through the site.

That data has shown something encouraging: CO2 output is not growing proportionally with vehicle counts, suggesting a shift toward lower-emission vehicles on the estate.

The Future

What started as a CCTV project has become a data platform. Vehicle counts, fuel types, MOT and tax status, Euro emission ratings, carbon output — all captured automatically and available for reporting.

The BID board and OneTek meet regularly to review the system and identify where it can go next. Environmental monitoring, pedestrian and cyclist counting, and deeper integration with estate management are all on the table.

OneTek has been on Winsford Industrial Estate for over 16 years. The CCTV system has grown from 3 cameras to more than 40, and the network that supports it now provides broadband, security, and data insights across the entire estate. One team built all of it, and one team manages it.