Businesses step in to fund under-threat CCTV network

The CCTV system covering Pickering was due to stop operating from the start of this week due to financial cutbacks, despite claims by senior police officers the cameras are a vital crime-fighting tool.

However, businesses in the town have managed to raise about a third of a £2,000 target which is needed to keep the network running during the next 12 months.

The money raised so far will ensure the cameras remain operational until the end of June, although the Ryedale Cameras in Action (RCIA) charity stressed a question mark still remains over the longer term future of the network.

RCIA‘s chairman, Martin Dales said: “It is clear that the cameras are a valued resource for the people and businesses of Pickering and help them feel safe.

“While a significant amount of money has been raised so far, there is still a long way to go. Even if the £2,000 is raised, it will mean that the cameras will only continue to operate up until the spring of next year.”

Ryedale District Council has pledged a total of £50,000 for the next two financial years to continue to provide CCTV coverage in Malton and Norton. But members of Pickering Town Council decided the use of cameras in their town can no longer be justified as they battle to balance budgets.

The town council provided £1,800 in the last financial year, which came to an end in March, to help finance RCIA, which was launched in 1997 to manage the CCTV system covering Malton, Norton and Pickering.

But the figure would have risen to £2,000 for the new financial year prompting the town council, which has an annual budget in the region of £130,000, to opt not to continue funding the CCTV network for Pickering.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in February that Ryedale District Council’s leader Linda Cowling had warned Pickering, which is a major gateway to the North York Moors National Park, would become a soft target for criminals if the cameras are switched off.

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