Grantham residents win fight for CCTV coverage
A new CCTV camera has been installed in Springfield Road, Grantham, after a campaign by residents from a nearby housing development.
The additional camera gives South Kesteven District Council CCTV operators a view of Springfield Road access points to the Bovis estate, the local play area and approaches to the nearby railway bridge.
It follows a campaign by local residents living on the nearby Bovis Homes Mallard Quarter development, after they set up a committee and a Facebook group to collectively tackle issues affecting the area.
Steve Whitlow, of Bradley Drive, has been instrumental in driving the campaign for CCTV. He said: “I would like to thank Rob Hughes, the SKDC CCTV manager, who has been the influential person here. He has been very helpful from the original query about the £68,000 Bovis paid for this.”
David Thomas, who has lived on the estate for two years, said he was hopeful that the camera will have a positive impact. He said: “I am pleased to see the long awaited CCTV is up and running. Let’s hope it proves helpful in resolving some of the problems we are encountering on the estate and with the low bridge.”
Suzanne Britz, also a resident on the Mallard Quarter estate, added: “It’s a welcome relief as the estate has been targeted by vandals and even now, the play area is missing three swings, so hopefully this camera will act as a deterrent and provide the police with crucial evidence.”
The CCTV camera was paid for through a planning agreement with estate developers, Bovis.
Ward members Coun Nikki Manterfield and Coun Adam Stokes have been closely involved in bringing the project to fruition.
Coun Stokes said: “We are pleased this is now in place. It’s a positive move and will make the play area and neighbourhood safer for everyone.”
Coun Manterfield added: “Local people have been pro-active in getting this pushed through, and they are the ones who will benefit most.”
Cabinet member for environment, Coun Dr Peter Moseley, said: “CCTV twenty four hours a day is a valuable contribution to the street scene and it’s in a very visible location.
“It will give residents peace of mind and help our partners in law enforcement to increase public safety and reduce crime across the wider area.
“This is a good use of developer money to help our award-winning monitoring centre staff in their crime reduction role.”
SKDC owns and maintains CCTV cameras in Grantham, Stamford, Bourne, Market Deeping and Deeping St James, all monitored 24/7 by its award-winning staff.
Its monitoring centre has been in operation since June 1997.
It was involved in over 2,500 incidents in the year 2017/18.
