Town centre CCTV monitoring funded by PCC

BBC A view of a CCTV camera.BBC
The council had looked to end live monitoring as part of cost-saving measures

A town centre CCTV system which was under threat has been given a six-month reprieve by Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissioner.

Warrington Council had proposed to end live monitoring of its town centre CCTV control room in October, as part of plans to save £40m.

The move was criticised by Cheshire Police's chief constable, and the council later said it was looking to work with the force so that live monitoring could continue.

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price has now agreed to provide funding to keep the CCTV live monitoring in place until April 2027.

Speaking at a meeting of Cheshire's Police and Crime Panel, Dan Price said he had "ringfenced community funding" for the council to keep the live monitoring in place until at least April next year.

"This will buy enough time for the redesign of the CCTV in Warrington," he said.

Price added that he had been looking into the latest technology used by other forces which he said could speed up investigations

"This is an opportunity for us to reshape CCTV for the future and my job now is to work with Warrington Council and other town centre partners to make this happen," he said.

Warrington Council said: "We're continuing to work with partners and are in active discussions with the PCC to identify potential solutions."