Councillors to vote on CCTV review

Council scrutiny panel to vote on CCTV review

A WEST Berkshire Council scrutiny panel is to vote tomorrow (Tuesday) on whether a review into the transfer of the CCTV control room at Newbury to new hub in Windsor and Maidenhead will take place.

Delays due to weather issues and problems with telemetry (the transmission of the recordings) have plagued the project, causing many local traders in Bartholomew Street and Pound Lane to believe crimes over the Christmas period have gone unmonitored by the CCTV cameras in place.

West Berkshire's shadow portfolio holder for community safety, Roger Hunneman (Lib Dem, Victoria), called for an urgent review to be carried out by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission, as he was concerned over the length of time the transfer had taken.

Should the commission vote in favour, the review would examine the project plan, the public communications plan, what level of uptime was expected/planned for during transition, and whether the council's standard project methodology was used for the project.

The results would be fed back to the council's executive.

It has been recommended that the commission accepts the proposal to review the CCTV transfer project.