New surveillance cameras to be introduced to Pembrokeshire in bid to stop illegal parkers

NEW surveillance cameras will be used in Pembrokeshire to catch illegal parkers but a mobile camera car will not be used, as previously proposed.

Civil enforcement cameras were proposed in 2019 and a working group was tasked with examining their use further with the initial cabinet report proposing mobile camera vehicles.

Following scrutiny it was recommended to cabinet that traffic contravention enforcement be carried out using “mobile fixed cameras” on a one year pilot basis, with equipment available for hire in collaboration with Derbyshire County Council.

Pembrokeshire County Council had found that enforcement failed to meet expectations around schools, bus stops and other sites where short-term parking is prohibited such as zig-zags at pedestrian crossings, no loading/unloading restrictions, double yellow lines and taxi ranks, a report to cabinet on Monday, January 10 states.

ANPR technology will also be used to monitor the Cleddau Bridge during high wind closures.

Any images of parking infringements will be processed by Derbyshire County Council and then forwarded to Pembrokeshire officers for review before any penalty charge notices are issued because “local knowledge was deemed to be important facto when reviewing the evidence.”

The report adds that the costs of hiring four cameras is £23,000, back office support costs would be £22,000 along with infrastructure and software costs totalling £20,000.

Cabinet approved the pilot scheme as well as “education and communication measures to compliment the approach,” with decisions on where the cameras will be placed delegated to the cabinet member for infrastructure and the head of infrastructure.

A monitoring report will be brought back the policy and pre-decision overview and scrutiny committee a year after the installation of the first scheme to evaluate outcomes.