Wilmslow Town Council has agreed to continue funding the CCTV in Wilmslow town centre, with a new 3-year contract starting 1st April 2024.
The operation of Wilmslow's town centre CCTV has been funded by the Town Council since 2014, with the purpose of preventing and detecting crime and disorder.
Wilmslow Town Council's current 3-year arrangement with Cheshire East Council comes to an end in March 2024. The new contract will cost £18,766 per year which covers all fees involved in operating the CCTV system, such as general administration, monitoring, and technical and support functions.
Wilmslow town centre's CCTV cameras are continuously recording, with footage sent to Cheshire East Council's control room in Macclesfield where staff detect and monitor situations as they develop, escalating incidents to Wilmslow Police where necessary. The recorded data is retained and processed by Cheshire East Council, who provide Wilmslow Town Council with quarterly reports regarding activations and incidents.
Wilmslow Town Council Chair, Councillor Jon Newell, said, "Wilmslow town centre's CCTV coverage is of utmost importance because it helps the police tackle and prevent crime and antisocial behaviour. This helps to make those visiting and working in the town centre feel at ease and supports the business community.
"We thank Cheshire East Council for working with us to make Wilmslow town centre a safer place to be."
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Historically, English common law has recognised no general right of privacy.
However, the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into English law the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8.1 of the ECHR provided an explicit right to respect for a private life.
The European Convention on Human Rights is the first Council of Europe’s convention and the cornerstone of all its activities. It was adopted in 1950 and entered into force in 1953. Its ratification is a prerequisite for joining the Organisation. The United Kingdom was a founder member of the Council of Europe back in 1949.
The European Union’s accession to the Convention, was a legal requirement under the Lisbon Treaty.
After the UK left the European Union in 2020, the ECHR was enshrined into UK law through the “Brexit Bill”. However, there is now a private members bill currently progressing through parliament called the “British Bill of Rights and Withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights Bill”. It’s sponsor is Peter Bone who is the Conservative MP for Wellingborough. Any existing protections that you already have through the ECHR would be removed if this bill successfully passes through parliament. I for one am more concerned about this happening than the presence of CCTV cameras on the public highway.
And finally, this isn't policing by camera as the service is not operated or controlled by the Police. It is operated and controlled by a civil authority, which in this case is Cheshire East Council which is governed by elected members.