The town council should be congratulated for arranging a recent meeting of interested parties concerning crime, anti social behaviour and the installation of CCTV in the town. A pat on the back too for the Chamber of Commerce who have joined in with the raising of funds to finance such a scheme. The Sidmouth Herald have also taken up the challenge and launched the W.A.T.C.H. campaign - in order to raise funds.
Let's hope the town rallies together on this - my donation has already been handed in at the Herald office - let's get the system fitted and reclaim the streets!!
£820 so far!!! Come on Sidmouth - dig deep - you can do better than that!!!
I see a few more pounds have been donated during the last week. Are there any forum users with views on this subject? How has it been working in Honiton? Is it a worthwhile venture for Sidmouth?
It's all very well getting the funds together for CCTV - but, we need a committment from the police that they will be a serious partner in this venture and will turn up to deal with incidents when required.
What is the use of having CCTV cameras and volunteers giving up their time to monitor them if the police are not turning out to answer 999 calls on time?????
Any other views? There appears to be sufficient response by written word in the local paper but reluctance to contribute on-line.
Thought should be given to putting Sidmouth in Bloom on hold for next year and plough any money saved into the CCTV fund. Quite a bit could be saved if all those bedding plants weren't bought and the town could save on council labour and the expense involved in taking a water bowser all around the town next summer. What about the Carnival? Enthusiasm seems to be flagging as far as that is concerned - forget about it next year and donate to the CCTV coffers.
A bloke who has been keeping a log of Anti Social Behaviour incidents over the past 3 months or so has told me that 46 incidents have kept him awake during the early hours since the middle of July! They range from drunks urinating up nearby walls to females screaming abuse up and down the town centre - some occurring as late as 3.30 a.m.
Hmmm! A beautiful, sedate, regency town eh? Yeah if viewed through rose tinted glasses!
Have any other forum users experienced similar incidents in the town centre or elsewhere? I understand that Temple Street has its share of the noisy element.
Any news of when the cameras are to be fitted and the system up and running? I would have thought that it would be desireable to be monitoring the streets in time for the coming summer. After all with the milder evenings and nights the yobs and yobesses will be taking to the streets till the early hours causing their usual mayem.
nige wrote:There is no need for CCTV in Sidmouth. There are no Yobs in the town....just old people.
.... and that is probably a supporting reason that CCTV is infact needed. We have a 70 odd year old gent committing offences on a weekly basis, skating along the esplanade, unsteady on his skates amongst quite a lot of elderly walkers - an accident waiting to happen.
Mobility scooters being driven on the esplanade and on narrow pavements at speeds far in excess of the regulation 4 mph! When they do take to the roads - they drive up them the wrong way.
There is an urgent need for CCTV to curb this incessant law breaking - it would also come in useful to identify the Yobs and Yobesses causing mayem during the coming summer nights - it would also help track the numerous shop lifters that we get that think Sidmouth is an easy touch.
I agree - it is needed in Sidmouth. - and it would be nice to get it up and running for this summer.
They started asking for money over a year ago - no sign of any cameras yet. I hope that the interest accruing on the donated funds will also be added to the pot.
Does any body know whether the businesses in the town have donated yet or are they just pledges?
Probably pledges. It will be mostly residents that have stumped up the cash already.
We'll see things moving in a few weeks according to reports in the Herald.
I wonder whether the mention of 'Stuart Hughes' in the roll of honour relates to a private donation or does it refer to money pledged/donated by Cllr Hughes from his Devon County Council budget? If it is the latter then the reference should be to DCC not a private individual - better still they should list every Council Tax payer on their books 'cos we're the ones who stump up the readies for his locality budget - US!
.... and the wait goes on.
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