At Monday night’s meeting of the Ventnor Town Council (VTC), all but one member of the VTC voted against paying for CCTV in Ventnor.
Cllr Mew was the first to speak against the adoption of a CCTV camera.
He was not against the principle of CCTV, but argued as to why the VTC should have to find money in its budget for the camera, when other towns such as Newport and Cowes had CCTV paid for by the Isle of Wight Council.
The camera which would have a life span of 8-10 years would cost around £9,400, a figure that the VTC (and ultimately the tax paying residents of Ventnor) would have to bear.
Cllr Lucas expressed similar concerns. He was dubious of the effectiveness of CCTV and told his colleagues that the cost should be borne by the police and not the VTC.
Cllr Scoccia suggested that a mobile CCTV vehicle be requested for use during one off events such as the carnival. Cllr Lucas proposed that the details be put on file and looked again in 12 months time.
All voted in favour except Cllr George, who abstained from voting on the subject.
Image: charbel.akhras under CC BY-ND 2.0
