City camera row is all down to poor image

01 April 2009

Westminster City Council has labelled the Department for Transport (DfT) ‘Draconian’ in a row over the council’s use of cutting-edge CCTV cameras for traffic management.

The local authority has been told by the DfT that it must shut down its £15M wireless network because the image resolution is too low.

The council installed the 100 parking-enforcement cameras in 2006, and claims to be the only local authority in the country to use digital cameras for this purpose.

Cllr Danny Chalkley, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said the Government’s position was ‘ludicrous’ and ‘stuck in the dark ages’.

In a letter to transport secretary, Geoff Hoon, Chalkley explained how the new technology helped the council manage ‘some of the UK’s busiest roads’.

‘This Draconian view puts into jeopardy the £15M already spent on Westminster’s CCTV network, and could result in millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being needed to replace the current cameras, all because of a tiny difference in image resolution on the TV screen,’ Chalkley said. ‘We have lodged an appeal with the DfT over this issue, and we urge it to see commonsense and review the decision.’

A DfT spokesperson said: ‘It is important that cameras used to enforce parking meet strict standards to ensure fairness and consistency for motorists.

‘We consulted fully on these standards. Councils in London have had 18 months to ensure their cameras meet these requirements.’

The Traffic Management Act 2004’s CCTV Parking Enforcement Camera Standards, which came into effect this week (1 April), stipulate that images need to be 720 x 576 pixels, but the digital cameras broadcast images of 704 x 576 pixels.

The council claims that CCTV experts advised that while the resolution of analogue images might ‘appear’ to be higher, the actual image was not due to a black ‘buffer zone’ around the edge of the pictures. ‘In practice, the final image [from an analogue camera] is only 702 x 576 pixels.’

However, the DfT claims: ‘A number of authorities in England are currently using digital-enforcement cameras which fully comply with our regulations and criteria for certification.’

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