100 new CCTV cameras to catch fly-tippers

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A Central London council wants to install 100 CCTV cameras to catch fly-tippers and curb noisy crowds.

Westminster City Council said the cameras, which can be moved across the borough, could be in place by the summer, and has hinted at joining forces with other local authorities to monitor them.

They are the first to be run by the council since its previous network was handed over to the Met in 2017, according to a council report.

The council plans to fork out £500,000 from reserves to install the cameras and an extra £600,000 to maintain them. The measure is expected to be approved during the March budget and included in the base budget by 2025/26, the report shows. The cost includes a full-time officer to coordinate the council’s fleet of CCTV.

Westminster City said the kit will “concentrate on addressing problems that most affect local people” and are unlikely to be placed in hot spots like the West End and Covent Garden, which is already monitored by police-run cameras.

The move comes after the council hired a security consultant to advise it on how to tackle antisocial behaviour like excessive noise and fly-tipping, the report revealed.

(Picture: Pixabay)