Questions have been raised about the town’s CCTV provision after it was confirmed that the installation of 26 new CCTV cameras has been delayed.
The town council approved the purchase in March this year, and the system was scheduled for an upgrade and expansion across the town by the end of May, following a council vote to install the equipment at a cost of just under £30,000. However, at a recent town council meeting, it was revealed that the cameras have not yet been installed, with head of operations Hugh Davies confirming they are now due to be installed by the end of August.
Cllr Tom Price asked the council to confirm with the installers that the installation is on track for completion by then. He said, “Can we get confirmation that that is the case? As it’s been going on for a while, and I am getting a bit nervous about it.”
Councillors also questioned why a whole room has been built within the town hall as a dedicated CCTV monitoring suite, with some stating they do not ever ‘recall’ signing this off.
“I don’t quite understand why we built a room and why no one in this council was told,” said Cllr Jennie Westbrook. Melksham’s mayor, Cllr Tom Price, echoed Cllr Jennie Westbrook’s concern, stating it was a ‘valid question’ because he also does not ‘recall’ any finances or a plan for a whole CCTV monitoring room to be built.
Councillors also raised concerns about who would be able to access this room and view the ‘highly sensitive’ CCTV footage. Cllr Adrienne Westbrook asked for confirmation that the footage could not be remotely accessed.
“I don’t think anyone but the police should have permitted approval to look at that,” said Cllr Jennie Westbrook. “I think we need to be very careful about who would be allowed in that room. I don’t see why anyone from the council would ever need to go into a CCTV room. CCTV should only ever be looked at by the police because it should only ever be looked at when a crime is reported.”
The town council’s head of operations, Hugh Davies, said the room had been created to ensure the town council is compliant with GDPR and Home Office regulations. However, Melksham News then asked the question as to how long the town council’s CCTV system had not been compliant with Home Office regulations. The town council said it would provide a written response about this, which Melksham News is yet to receive.
Pictured: The town centre where some of the cameras will be installed
