Hexthorpe CCTV coverage to be offline for weeks as street light improvements are delayed

In an FOI response, a senior council boss confirmed there are no cameras within Hexthorpe as they have been removed as part of a bigger project to enhance coverage and allow street light columns to be replaced.

But DMBC bosses also confirmed the street lighting team have encountered power ‘installation issues’ and the CCTV cameras will be back online as the work progresses.

They’re said to have been hampered by delays for isolator units and council chiefs added once these works have been concluded, it will take four to four weeks to bring CCTV in the area fully back online.

Through the office of the South Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner, £500,000 of Home Office money was awarded to Hexthorpe for increased CCTV and street lighting.

The cameras located along Balby Road are monitored 24/7 and recording are kept for 30 days. The cameras located around Hexthorpe and future cameras set to be installed around the area will be monitored 24/7 with 30 days record time.

Before commencement of the project, the area of Hexthorpe had within its boundary nine cameras and two three-way fixed cameras, offering CCTV coverage of various alley ways on Urban Road/Hexthorpe Road and Ramsden Road/Kirk Street areas.

Four of these cameras also had a direct link back to Civic Office Building for 24/7 monitoring coverage.

After the proposed upgrade, all the above cameras will still be in situ but will all be linked back to Civic Office via an intricate wireless network for 24/7 monitoring.

On top of that, the project includes installing 13 three-way cameras and one four-way camera to ‘further enhance CCTV coverage’ within the area of Hexthorpe.

Phil Holmes, director of adults, health and wellbeing, said: “We’re very pleased to have been given funding to significantly upgrade the CCTV in Hexthorpe in support of local people and businesses.

“As part of this work we are upgrading the power supply and installing Wi-Fi connectivity for the cameras. The work is scheduled to be completed within a 4 to 5 week period.”

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