The City of Hartlepool in England’s North East is rolling out smart columns in a pilot. The 8-metre columns incorporate electronic screens, smart street lighting, environmental monitors, traffic counters and audio speakers, with some also including 4G and 5G enabled small cells.

The wireless technology will complement the city’s waterfront connectivity project being undertaken by Hartlepool Borough Council and funded through Hartlepool Town Deal.

Alongside Hartlepool, new columns are being introduced at Teesside International Airport. TVCA is being supported by private neutral host partners Dense Air in developing the projects.

The roll-out comes after regional authority Tees Valley was successful in securing £200,000 from the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s Smart Infrastructure Pilots Programme. This programme is designed to trial the procurement, installation and added use cases of smart multi-purpose columns in the UK.

A key feature of each smart column will be two 55” electronic display screens. The content will be controlled by Hartlepool Borough Council and is envisaged to be advertisement of local council events and wayfinding directions, alongside train and bus timetables where available.

The columns include smart lighting which can be controlled remotely and dimmed/turned off when necessary to provide energy savings.

The 5G small cells will provide a private 5G network, used initially to test potential use cases with the intention on rolling it out to businesses and attractions in the area, and expanding to a public 5G network in the future.

Three columns will host small traffic sensors to be used to monitor traffic and pedestrian footfall, feeding data back into the existing Urban Traffic Management System, aiming to improve traffic flows, incident and event management. It will also enable the Council to make more informed, data led decisions on transport schemes in the future.

The same sensors have been installed elsewhere in Hartlepool benefiting both residents and businesses.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This technology is the first of its kind anywhere in the north of England and shows how our region is leading the way in introducing new technology which will make a big difference to people by delivering better connectivity and improving the quality of local networks.

“As a busy and growing destination for both businesses and visitors, it’s important this area of Hartlepool has the very best digital connectivity and this is yet another demonstration of how we are at the forefront of introducing innovative new technologies.”

Councillor Karen Oliver, Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee, said: “As an innovative and forward-thinking authority, we are to committed to exploring how technology can be harnessed to improve efficiency and provide services that benefit local residents and businesses, and visitors to the borough.”