On 22 December 2023 the then Partnerships decided as Portfolio Holder to accept the Safer Streets fund grant and to enter into a public consultation in order to embed compliance with the Council’s CCTV code of practice. Subsequently a decision on the consultation results was combined with the final scope of the scheme and authority to progress with consents and contracts for the project was made by the Portfolio Holder. That decision included delegations to enter into other contracts in relation to the scheme.
The Portfolio Holder concurred with the appointment of Openview Security Solutions Limited as the main contractor for the works on 12 November 2024.
The Safer Steets scheme as agreed includes for the physical and technical works in the scheme and for remaining funding to be used to augment resources for monitoring. The latter balance currently stands at around £80,000.
On 21 February 2025 Cabinet agreed proposals for the transfer of Careline functions, including CCTV monitoring to be delivered by Colchester Amphora Trading Limited a company wholly owned by Colchester City Council. At present and under the upgrading contract recording and monitoring of Clacton’s CCTV is carried out at the Clacton control toom by TDC staff. However, under the proposed arrangement, the future monitoring will be carried out by Colchester Amphora Trading Limited’s staff in Colchester. This means both that TDC will not require the funding for staff resources and that a secure, robust and sufficient data link between Clacton and Colchester is necessary.
Colchester Amphora Trading Limited, utilising its existing procurement arrangements, has proposed to supply and install a suitable data link at a cost of £2,058 plus VAT. This installation will be coordinated alongside their other scheduled activities to deliver the agreed services. It is anticipated that the ongoing annual rental cost of £6,685 plus VAT will be funded from the designated Careline transition budget. Accordingly, the initial installation costs to be covered by the Safer Streets fund represent a one-off expenditure.