Council plans to cut CCTV provision by two-thirds

A Surrey borough is planning to cut its town-centres CCTV camera provision by two-thirds despite public support for video surveillance.

Reigate and Banstead Council has 65 cameras in key locations, including the Priory and Memorial and Lady Neville multi-storey car parks.

Under options presented to the council's overview and scrutiny committee, 22 cameras will be upgraded at an initial cost of £200,000, while 43 will be decommissioned due to being "out of date".

A petition with 425 signatures was discussed by the council in January calling on it to reinstate monitored CCTV in its town centres and for Surrey Police to reinstate regular patrols.

Under the proposed cuts, Horley would see its nine cameras reduced to four.

Redhill, Reigate, Horley and Banstead face similar cuts, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Five areas would lose CCTV cameras altogether, including Woodhatch, Tadworth, Nork, Marbles Way and Holmethorpe.

The only area to keep its current number of (two) CCTV cameras is Merstham.

Council leader Richard Biggs told a committee meeting the current CCTV cameras are “not good enough”.

He said the recommended option provides the “security and perception of security and safety” for residents.

He said: “We want to make sure people feel safe coming into, not just Redhill town centre, but into Merstham, Banstead, Woodhatch and Reigate.”

The committee meeting, on 12 September, was told the need for cameras was calculated by the kind of crimes being looked at, the frequency a camera was used and if it led to an arrest.

Surrey Police stopped monitoring public CCTV in some areas in October 2023 when the control room at Reigate Police Station was closed.

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