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A CCTV parking camera image taken last year looking into the bedroom of a flat in Bayswater |
Parking cameras are driven out
Number of enforcement CCTV devices is slashed following campaign
THE use of unpopular CCTV cameras to combat illegal parking has been cut.
The number of cameras employed by Westminster Council has been slashed from 145 to 100 in the face of fierce opposition from parking campaigners who claim the policy is a money-raising exercise.
A further 30 cameras have been relocated to traffic “hot spots” to tackle congestion rather than focus on parking offenders.
Councillor Danny Chalkley said he acknowledged “public concern” over the use of cameras and added that the changes should “reassure motorists”.
In theory, the cameras should be clearly visible, with each listed on the council’s website and marked with a “street enforcement camera” notice. But this hasn’t always been the case.
Last year the council came under fire when an unmarked parking camera was caught snooping on a bedroom flat in Moscow Road, Bayswater.
The announcement follows action by shop owners against individual cameras in Bayswater and Church Street that were said to be trapping motorists and driving away business.
Parking campaigners have welcomed the move. Barrie Segal, founder of the AppealNow website, said: “All the cameras should be scrapped. They do not comply with the guidance from the Department for Transport and moreover they breach the Data Protection Act.”
But Cllr Chalkley, the council’s cabinet member for environment, warned that the use of the cameras will continue.
He added: “The use of CCTV is considered an essential component of effective parking enforcement in Westminster and is used where there are known traffic problems or risks to the safety of the public and our staff.
“However, public concern exists about the use of CCTV to enforce parking. These changes are intended to reassure motorists.”
Motorists have also found themselves with another unlikely champion this week in the shape of City of London and Westminster MP Mark Field. The Conservative MP has challenged the need for cameras to catch speeders, complaining of the “excessive” use of CCTV.
Writing on his website, Mr Field said: “The conventional wisdom that speed is the best measure of poor driving should be challenged, as well as the idea that the use of speed cameras makes us better drivers.
“I am not speaking up for the small group of very bad and aggressive drivers.
“What I object to is the excessive use of speed cameras and overzealous penalising of drivers.
“Driving at 60mph at night time on an empty 50mph dual carriageway for instance does not endanger lives.” |
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