New CCTV cameras to be installed in Great Yarmouth

The sites for the cameras were selected following a public consultation and the money for the initiative came from a £149,000 grant to Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk Police from the Government's Safer Streets Fund and was allocated by the county's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

The money was then match-funded by the council.

The OPCC distributed almost £1m to projects throughout Norfolk that are designed to support initiatives that tackle neighbourhood crime, reduce violence against women and girls and anti-social behaviour.

Work on the infrastructure for the cameras starts this month and they will be in operation by July.

As part of the public consultation, people were asked about proposed locations for new CCTV units and plans to install an audio recognition camera (ARC) on the seafront.

The consultation showed 65 per cent of respondents strongly supported the proposed locations and 79 per cent said CCTV makes them feel safer.

 As part of the Safer Streets funding, the office of the Norfolk PCC also awarded a grant of £5,000 to The Civic Society of Great Yarmouth to run weekly community clean-ups in alleyways across the town.

Other Safer Streets initiatives in the borough include community engagement sessions on subjects including anti-social behaviour, how to report neighbourhood crime, vehicle crime and fly tipping.

And the council has been working on a scheme with Norfolk Police to host bike marking events. There have been four sessions so far, with about 150 cycles registered on the national database.

Councillor Carl Smith, leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: "The installation of new CCTV cameras in places highlighted by our residents can only be positive for safety and we are delighted the Office of the PCC saw fit to help fund a number of projects in the borough.

''The community was involved in the planning and execution of each of the initiatives, which are all designed to make a meaningful difference to the lives of our residents.

''As always, we are pleased to work with our local police and other partners to deliver these projects which are designed to encourage active participation and foster a collective sense of ownership in creating a safer Great Yarmouth.''

Launched in July 2023, Round Five of the Safer Streets Fund invited Police Crime Commissioners to bid for £43m of Government finance to target areas disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls (VAWG) and anti-social behaviour.

Previous successful bids have enabled the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk and the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership to secure more than £400,000 to tackle VAWG with measures such as better street lighting and increasing the CCTV network in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.