Town councillors have this week agreed to replace several aging CCTV cameras in Burnham-On-Sea at a cost of £17,000.
During a meeting on Monday evening (August 5th), Burnham and Highbridge town councillors voted to proceed with the work after considering a report on CCTV provision across the two towns.
It was agreed to replace two CCTV cameras in the Manor Gardens at a cost of £8,570.10, to upgrade a camera on The Esplanade near the Pavilion at a cost of £4,215.05, and to replace a further camera near Marine Cove at a cost of £4,215.05.
It comes after a decision was made earlier this year that the Town Council would enter a three-year agreement on CCTV cameras provision with Somerset Council while seeking a reduction in the annual cost.
Somerset Council had been considering removing the CCTV monitoring service across the county to save funds amid its financial emergency.
Somerset Council advised at the time that the cost in Burnham and Highbridge would be £22,386.27 for this year, increasing with the Retail Price Index each year thereafter. However, after negotiations, it was agreed that the Town Council would only pay £15,000 for this year although Monday’s meeting heard that this yet to be signed.
Monday’s meeting heard that Somerset Council had confirmed that the CCTV camera in the High Street in Burnham has been upgraded so is now working, however there are three other cameras in Burnham that are still not working.
Somerset Council proposed to remove and decommission two cameras in the Manor Gardens; remove and decommission the camera near the Pavilion; and upgrade the camera on The Esplanade with a digital camera to give better coverage.
The meeting also heard that Somerset Council has advised that from 2025/26, the annual support charge will be £2,565 per camera (plus RPI), which covers the cost of the monitoring service and is the charging model being applied to all city, town and parish councils. If all cameras are kept and upgraded there would be 12 cameras at £30,780.
Cllr Barbara Vickers told Monday’s meeting: “It’s a very small amount to keep and update the cameras. From a rough calculation, it costs about £2.40 per household in Burnham and Highbridge. When you break it down like that it doesn’t look so scary. I think local people by and large want to have the security of the CCTV cameras.”
Cllr Mike Facey called out Somerset Council for stating in its report that there had been no anti social problems in the Manor Gardens or along the seafront. And Cllr Kate Pearce noted that Marine Cove has also experienced problems.
Some of the funds for the new cameras are likely to come from CIL funding – from local housing developments – and a separate budget to offset Somerset Council devolution. The decision on the source of funds was delegated to the Clerk and Cllr Ganesh Gudka.
