Case Study: Mercia Marina
Over £6million has been invested to create Mercia Marina, a first-class mooring for boaters, as well as a destination for other visitors. This family owned business has gone to great lengths to retain the existing character and profile of Willington Lake in Derbyshire by adding five islands and four promontories that are already close to a series of other small marinas joined by wide expanses of open water. This has been a labour of love in a beautiful setting.
The standard of facilities for boaters is equally high. With over 250 berths, the facilities blocks offer showers, toilets and laundry machines. Parking is close to all the berths and security is paramount with access via electronic automatic security gates. Also on site are a Shop/Chandlery and Gift Store, Tea Room, independent Brokerage and two refuelling and pump out stations and double width covered dry dock. And now in addition to these already extensive facilities, Park & Marine Wireless Networks have installed Mobotix cameras and WiFi across the whole site.
The aim of Mercia Marina is to provide attractive private moorings which are safe and secure, and also offering all the facilities boaters could require, at competitive prices.
Robert Neff, General Manager of Mercia Marina had this to say about the installation by Park and Marine Wireless Networks; “The reason for having WiFi installed at the Marina was that we felt it was an important customer service. Cellular Dongles and such like are not reliable in rural areas and this was an important customer service facility for us and a solid marketing tool as well.”
Robert went on to say; “I found Park and Marine via an internet search and the important thing with the quote was to get the initial detail nailed down from the start, as well as understanding just how it would be installed over such a large site which required precise planning for a good overall service. Issues we raised were mainly about the speed or bandwidth available for the connection, and whether or not the existing BT infrastructure would be able to support us, which was our main concern.”
What was your initial plan for having WiFi installation at the Marina? “There was always the possibility of just installing a hotspot, but having it across the whole site seemed to make better financial sense. Provided the coverage was right we could have built the costs into our mooring fees, but it seemed better to charge individually and that seems to work well. We’re quite hopeful it will pay for itself very quickly.”
How did you find the installation went? “Everything went fairly smoothly, we had a few issues at the beginning, as with any new service on such a large area, but it was sorted out and apart from that, the service runs smoothly and our customers seem very happy”
You have also had the MOBOTIX cameras installed across the Marina, what were your reasons for this? “The main reason for the cameras was night-time security, number plate recognition at night, in different low level lights, street light etc. We do have one as a web-cam for visitors, but mostly the cameras are a security installation for us and we find it works well for us.”
Robert concluded. “I would recommend Park and Marine, the quote was good once we nailed everything down and they sorted out all the initial teething problems and their technical back up is absolutely excellent. Yes, I would say I am very happy with the service provided”
