Technology to help shoppers in Worksop and Retford maintain social distancing

North Notts BID will offer people the opportunity to access information through a Safe Space Indicator, which will monitor town centres as shops begin to re-open after lockdown.

The website will utilise the BID’s Geosense mobile data and apply a simple traffic light system to indicate how many people are in various parts of the town, acting as an early warning system for potential visitors.

The fully anonymised and GDPR-compliant service is delivered by ElephantWiFi, who has also provided the BID’s popular town centre Wi-Fi service, which saw more than 140,000 connections last year in Worksop alone.

Sally Gillborn, chief executive at North Notts BID, said: “When non-essential retail is able to re-open, we want everyone to be able to visit our towns while feeling as safe as possible.

“Social distancing is going to continue to be of paramount importance, so monitoring footfall in this way will allow us to keep an eye on where there may be potential issues and give peace of mind to visitors.

“The businesses in the district have reacted incredibly to the challenges that Covid-19 has presented, and we want to do everything we can to support them as we begin to return to some semblance of normality.”

Dan Coombs from ElephantWiFi, said: “The platform is designed to allow BIDs and place managers to share information with the public about how busy specific areas are.

“The idea is that someone can check the website and see the state of play in whichever town they are looking to visit, and then make an informed decision on when and how to make the trip.”

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