Council accused of putting safety at risk in CCTV row
Monitoring of CCTV cameras across South Ayrshire has been scaled back in a move branded a “complete disregard for safety”.
South Ayrshire Council admit staff have been switched to focus mainly on community alarms instead.
And the lack of eyes on street cameras has been criticised amid ongoing security concerns this week.
One resident, who has asked not to be named, told the Post: “It’s absolutely disgusting to make a decision like this without the consultation of the public.
“There was a public consultation taken less than 18 months ago with the public voting strongly in favour / support for CCTV.
“This decision by the council is again showing complete disregard for the safety of the public of South Ayrshire.”
Monitoring of the public CCTV network is based at the John Pollock Centre, Ayr .
But with the centre set for demolition the CCTV recording facility will be relocated.
The Post understands a question mark now hangs over how the cameras will be monitored effectively going forward.
A council spokesperson said: “We took the decision in March 2020 to transfer the staff and resources previously involved in this activity, based in the John Pollock Centre, to the South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP).
“This allowed for a focus on community alarms which comprised the majority of their workload.
“CCTV Monitoring is still undertaken by Police Scotland with the council
providing a recording facility.
“The John Pollock Centre is planned to be demolished and the CCTV recording facility will be relocated to our McCalls Avenue Business Centre.
“We have investment identified to renew all of the cameras within the public CCTV network and are currently working with partners in the Community Safety Partnership to ascertain how this can be provided and implemented going forward.”
Chief Inspector Brian Anderson, Area Commander at South Ayrshire, said: “Police Scotland acknowledges the council’s decision to close the John Pollock Centre where CCTV monitoring currently takes place.
“We are working with the council and other partners to identify an appropriate future operating model to ensure local
communities continue to benefit from the provision of CCTV across South Ayrshire, including future investment in the camera network.”
A Scottish Parliament election candidate insists Ayr’s newest primary school could pose a safety risk to pupils.
Chic Brodie says the new Grammar school suffers from a lack of proper fencing at the nearby river and shortage of parking spaces.
Mr Brodie argues that the school, which served as the former Ayr Academy, will change with a much younger intake of pupils.
He claims the anticipated spike in traffic near the school and river area is a problem that needs addressed.
He said: “I do not wish to be alarmist and, in fact, am not.
“But I feel it important to ask questions and seek answers regarding the safety of the schoolchildren on two fronts.
“And I do so as the father of three lively children who went to school in Ayr.
“The first concern is the proximity of the river and I am concerned that some of the older and more inquisitive if not rumbustious children may seek to have access to the river’s edge.”
Mr Brodie, who is standing as a Scotia Future prospective candiate for election in Ayr this May, said fencing along various points of the river was not “insurmountable”.
He added: “It is very important that the council clarify what action has been taken and what information has been provided to parents and will be to pupils regarding safety.”
Mr Brodie said he was seeking to highlight the potential for parking problems, with Fort Street already a busy area. The Holyrood hopeful believes more parents of primary school children are likely to drop off their kids than those attending the old Ayr Academy.
A council spokesperson said: “The safety of school children is always a priority. The new Ayr Grammar building is fully enclosed and children will stay within the premises throughout the school day, unless they are under supervision.
“Outside school hours, parents / carers have the responsibility to ensure their children can travel to and from school safely.
“There are no plans at present to introduce railings at the harbour.”
Former school Ayr Grammar is set to be sold off, according to a council proposal.
South Ayrshire Council officials have recommended the historic building should be put on the market.
A group have expressed interest in transforming the ex-primary into a museum and for it to be handed over as a community asset.
Councillors will decide whether to go ahead with the sale at a Leadership Panel meeting next week.
A council paper due to be presented to elected members said converting it into flats is the “most realistic option in terms of future use for this building.”
It is situated in the town’s Midton Road - a residential upmarket part of Ayr on the edge of the town centre.
Council officials were worried if action isn’t taken to find a new purpose for the the C-listed property it could end up derelict.
The council report said: “The future use of Ayr Grammar cannot be progressed until the proposed future use of the building is approved.
“There is a risk that if an alternative, suitable use is not identified the overall condition of the building will deteriorate.”
The Ayrshire Heritage Museum Steering Group have approached the local authority about applying for a community asset transfer request for the building.
The group have attracted the backing of Ayr Rotary.
In a letter to the Ayrshire Post, the group said: “Ayrshire has one of the richest historical heritages of all Scotland’s shires.
“It should be a great sadness to us all, that the historic county town of Ayr is the only county town in Scotland that has no public museum in which to display its own heritage.”