Banbury CCTV Cut Plans Protested

Plans to cut CCTV across the Banbury area have been described as "idiotic".

18:58 06 January 2022

A local council's plan to cut CCTV across Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington in order to save money has been described as "idiotic". 

 

Councillor Perran Moon (Lab, Banbury Grimsbury & Hightown) is to ask the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner to intervene following a council's controversial proposal to end financial support for public space CCTV. 

 

The proposals are part of the £2.6million worth of savings that Cherwell District Council says it needs to make in the financial year 2022-23.

 

Its report acknowledges that “all live monitoring” of 80 cameras across Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington, the cost of which is shared between Thames Valley Police and Cherwell District Council, could cease with the system “likely to become mainly a tool to be used for retrospective evidence gathering”.

 

Cllr Moon asked Mr Barber “to use whatever influence he may have over the controlling Conservative group on this council to persuade them to ditch the idiotic proposal to cut CCTV funding by this council by up to 40 per cent".