Issue - meetings

(i)            That the BID’s agreement to provide £40,000 towards the cost of upgrading the CCTV for Newcastle’s town centre be noted;

(ii)           That Officers be authorised to procure a CCTV system upgrade and monitoring for Newcastle town centre.

(iii)          That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing be authorised to finalise the specification for the CCTV system upgrade with Stoke-on-Trent City Council then  undertake a direct award without a call for competition, utilising the Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s compliant framework.

(iv)         That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing be authorised to finalise the specification for the monitoring, assess the proposals from Stoke-on-Trent City Council and enter into an agreement for an Inter Authority Contract. 

(v)          That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing  be authorised to extend the current contract with the CCTV monitoring service until the new service is operational.

A report was submitted to Cabinet updating Members on the work and recommendations of the recent CCTV review.

The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing, Councillor Jill Waring stating that the current system was an aging one.  Members’ attention was drawn to paragraph 3 of the report which identified the issues with the current system, mainly that it was outdated and ineffective.

A visit had been made to Stoke on Trent City Council and their system was impressive, with one large screen which could be broken down into smaller sections.  Also, the system was wirelessly operated, therefore cameras could be moved.

The Leader, Councillor Simon Tagg stated that the system was very out of date, having not been overhauled since 2007.  Councillor Tagg was pleased that the Newcastle BID had agreed to contribute £40,000 towards the project and stated that there is an opportunity for other areas of the Borough to be included in the upgraded CCTV system if, like the BID, partners in those areas can provide funding.

The current Police and Crime Commissioner had also stated that if more authorities came forward he would put money into the scheme as it would be mutually beneficial to the police as to local authorities. 

Resolved:     (i)         That the BID’s agreement to provide £40,000 towards the

cost of upgrading the CCTV for Newcastle’s town centre be noted;

(ii)          That Officers be authorised to procure a CCTV system upgrade and monitoring for Newcastle town centre.

(iii)         That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing be authorised to finalise the specification for the CCTV system upgrade with Stoke-on-Trent City Council then  undertake a direct award without a call for competition, utilising the Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s compliant framework.

(iv)         That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing be authorised to finalise the specification for the monitoring, assess the proposals from Stoke-on-Trent City Council and enter into an agreement for an Inter Authority Contract. 

(v)          That the Executive Director (Resources and Support Services) in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing  be authorised to extend the current contract with the CCTV monitoring service until the new service is operational.