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CCTV - News Update August 2010....

Possible progress on the reinstatement of CCTV in Monmouth ?

David Cummings Chairman of Monmouth and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce commented :

" Our Treasurer, Ian Cooling  and I were very pleased to be invited to meet with Monmouth Town Council CCTV Working Group at the Shire Hall on 4th August. In the past certain Town Councillors have maintained that CCTV was only there for the benefit of town businesses. This argument was not put to us at the meeting .

We listened to a very detailed argument from  the Working Group on the history and current position of Monmouth Town Council and welcomed hearing the words "The Town Council are not in principle against the reinstatement of CCTV "

The major obstacle as far as the CCTV Working Group is concerned seems to be the lack of a Service Level Agreement between the Town Council ,  the County Council and the police to define the operation, monitoring and objectives of  a CCTV system . This should include safeguards for the Town Council for any costs incurred  in excess of the normal annual contribution made e.g. the ownership of any mobile cameras purchased.

We understand that in May 2009 the Town Councils of Abergavenny, Chepstow and Caldicot signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)  on the current system . Monmouth Town Council CCTV working group feel that only a Service Level Agreement with terms to which they can agree, can be passed by the full Town Council. There are therefore a number of options on how documentation can be progressed,  including the possibility of Monmouth Town Council signing an MOU in order to rejoin the decision making process of the county wide CCTV system,  followed later by a Service Level Agreement.

Ian and I came away from the meeting feeling that there was a far greater possibility of progress on this issue than at the public meeting in February 2009 , with some movement possible , perhaps as early as September . In order to show the Chamber ‘s continued support for the reinstatement of CCTV in Monmouth,  we offered a token one off payment in support,  if the current momentum shown by the Town Council could be maintained and once Monmouth Town Council had agreed in writing to CCTV's reinstatement"