Network Coordination Centre to Open and Alert Levels Published

The Emergency Management Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network today confirmed that the Network Coordination Centre at Central Exchange will be staffed continuously from 07:00 on Monday 7 September 2026. The Centre keeps the common picture of conditions across the sites of the Network, sets the alert level, issues Network alerts, and directs the site response teams during an emergency.

From the same day, four Network alert levels apply at every site: Normal, Advisory, Alert and Emergency. The level in force is set by the duty coordinator at the Centre, on the advice of the site emergency controllers, and is published on this site and sent to every registered address. Each level states plainly what is expected of staff of member organisations and of citizens of the Network, and what the Department itself will do. The alert level in force at establishment is Normal at all six sites.

Alerts are sent by email to addresses registered with the Department, and are repeated at every site by the local warning arrangements set out in that site's emergency plan. Staff and citizens are asked to register an address, to keep it current, and to read the guidance for households published on this site. Registration is made by writing to the Department; there is no charge.

Six site emergency controllers, one at each principal site, take up their duties on 7 September 2026. The 186 members of the site response teams trained during the transition period remain on call at their own sites and may be directed to another site by the Centre.