Sutton Council is deploying sensors to help combat fly-tipping and encampments in the borough’s car parks.

The Council will be working with UK-based provider IoT Solutions Group, to anonymously monitor suspicious car park activity in real-time through the use of digital sensors.

The partnership aims to put a stop to authorised vehicles entering car parks illegally and dumping their rubbish.

Sutton Council has previously invested in overheight vehicle barriers across the borough's car parks to prevent oversized vehicles from entering the sites.

But, in some instances, the locks have been illegally opened overnight, reported Sutton Council.

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The digital sensors are being implemented as part of the South London Partnership’s InnOvaTe Project and will be installed across eleven car parks for a period of one year.

Councillor Manuel Abellan said: “By installing digital sensors, the insights will give us a clear picture of car park activity in real-time, and allow early intervention if the gates are opened beyond a set time, saving potential police and court costs.

“I’d like to thank Sutton Council colleagues and IoT Solutions Group Ltd for their hard work to make this happen and we are excited to trial technology to tackle a continuous issue which has left a detrimental effect on our parks and the residents who regularly use them.”

The sensors do not collect personal data, and the technology cannot be used to gather any kind of personal data or for enforcement purposes.

But will report whether the barriers are open or closed and send alerts automatically if they are opened unexpectedly.

Emma Mahy, CEO of IoT Solutions Group, commented: “Yet again, Sutton Council have shown their desire to find new ways of tackling age-old challenges.

"It is great to see such an innovative council make strides in how it uses technology to improve the lives of those it serves.

“We are excited to be in a position to help prevent the costly issues affecting the borough and maintain the environments that residents and visitors enjoy.”