Banbury area CCTV system to get £250,000 upgrade to deter crime and help catch offenders

Councillors at Cherwell District Council (CDC) agreed the investment this week in a bid to step up community safety. It will apply to the network of cameras positioned in the district’s three main connurbations, Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington.

A meeting of CDC’s executive on Monday officially approved the quarter of a million pound spend which enables the council to join the Thames Valley CCTV partnership.

The council currently owns 63 cameras in the district and helps fund their monitoring. The cameras will be upgraded to new high-definition models, a condition of joining the partnership.

Councillor Rob Parkinson, Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, said: “A modern CCTV network is a key element in protecting our communities. CCTV helps us all to feel safer, deters crime and catches criminals.

“By making this investment now, we not only improve the coverage of our public spaces but also share resources with our neighbouring councils and the police. In the future, economies of scale will reduce our financial liabilities and deliver savings for taxpayers.”

Under the terms of the partnership the council will continue to make financial contributions to CCTV in the district but ownership of the cameras and responsibility for upgrading them as needed in future will be transferred to Thames Valley Police.

Cameras across Oxfordshire will be coordinated at a single hub, which will have more staffing to support more effective, real-time monitoring of footage. Under the arrangements, the council could save around £10,000 a year on maintenance costs in the years to come.