Lib Dems secure a plan for future of CCTV in Tiverton

After many years of use, the vital CCTV system used for public safety and crime prevention in Tiverton is in need of improvements.

Currently managed by Mid Devon District Council, with financial support from Tiverton Town Council, an investment of £84,000 is needed to bring the failing parts of the system up to standard. A grant of £25,000 has been secured, leaving the remainder for local taxpayers to fund.

The District Council considers the CCTV system to be discretionary, and facing ongoing funding cuts across many areas they are looking to offload it to the Town Council at a meeting on 24th January.

Concerns were raised over the lack of consultation

In a motion put forward by Cllr Dennis Knowles, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Community Well-Being on Mid Devon District Council (as well as a Town Councillor), the Town Council was asked to provide £50,000 towards the upgrade costs, and work towards a future goal of taking over the running of the system entirely.

However, many Councillors had concerns about the fitness of the CCTV system for the future, and that Tiverton Town Council was being asked to take on unknown risk and future costs without having done the due diligence needed to ensure both suitability and protect local taxpayer money.

These concerns were not helped when it was revealed that information that would have allowed Councillors to assess this risk and seek the needed advice was not shared with them between March and November 2021. Since then, requested information has been largely incomplete or anecdotal, with Councillors given little time to consider the risk to taxpayers.

£40,000 saved by local Councillors working together

After extensive and careful discussion, debate and consideration between the Tiverton Town Lib Dems, with the input and support of a Labour Councillor, an amended motion was passed that saved the Council and taxpayers £40,000.

The Councillors who worked on the amendment were Matt Farrell, Les Cruwys, David Garcia, Ben Holdman, Paul Elstone, Irene Hill, and Philip Hill (all Liberal Democrats), and Peter Hill (Labour).

Councillors asked to make decisions without access to important information

Cllr Philip Hill spoke at length while introducing the amendment:

"We wholeheartedly endorse the presence of a town centre CCTV System for Tiverton - it is essential. The assertion by Mid Devon District Council that the system is discretionary fails to take account of the importance of such schemes to law enforcement agencies in the light of the reducing police presence over recent years.

"The current problems can be traced back at least 5 years when the town centre CCTV system was upgraded and integrated with the system in the multi-storey carpark. I have been told that roughly half of the 29 cameras installed in the town at that time had only 1 year's software update capability remaining, after which they would be unable to accept any manufacturer's upgrades.

"There are other major problems due to both the technical infrastructure and compliance with modern digital/electronic standards, which Mid Devon were aware of for some time and which were presented to Tiverton Town Council only at the end of November last year. Mid Devon had accepted and addressed these deficiencies by applying for and obtaining a grant of £25,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner, however an additional £59,000 is required to carry out the remedial work.

Why were decisions made without Councillors' knowledge?

Cllr Hill continued, "In their grant application in March 2021, Mid Devon stated that "this application is in consultation with Tiverton Town Council". We are unaware of any consultation with, or agreement by, the Town Council in March 2021.

"Mid Devon commenced in March 2021 to secure the grant. The project was taken to their cabinet in July 2021 and then, apparently, discussions with the Town Council Clerk took place in the summer of 2021. However, it was not until November 2021 when our budget was being discussed, that any more than a very select group of Tiverton Town personnel became aware of this issue.

"Since then, we have been trying to get a better understanding of the extent of the problem. Hard technical and financial data has been variable and often anecdotal, and we have not heard anything from law enforcement agencies.

"Whilst we support the existence of the CCTV system, we cannot support Councillor Knowles motion to provide the lion's share of the additional money required (£50,000), to bail out deficiencies incurred by Mid Devon, at such short notice.

"As a measure of goodwill, we are prepared to contribute to the improvements.

"In addition, we agree that Tiverton Town Council should contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the system by providing £10,000 per annum."

More information is needed, but investment is still important now

Cllr Hill concluded his comments by asking for further consultation to be carried out to understand the system, how it is managed, and its role in law enforcement and the management of the town.

The amended motion included a new clause instructing that consultation should be held with the Exmouth Town Council CCTV Working Group to explore all aspects of their newly improved system, with a view to incorporating any advantageous features into the Tiverton system.

Councillors agreed that the Town Council would provide £10,000 as a one-off good will gesture for the sole purpose of constituting towards the upgrade of the town centre CCTV system. The funds would be taken from the Council's reserves. The annual £6,000 maintenance funds previously provided would be upgraded to £10,000, as already agreed in the 2022/23 budget.

The amended motion also required that Town Councillors be included in quarterly meetings with the District Council and the Police to review the CCTV system.

Finally, the Council agreed to explore other grant and funding opportunities prior to any final decision on whether to fully adopt the CCTV system.