Future of Westhoughton CCTV cameras in doubt after NCP collapse

It was agreed that Westhoughton would be added to Bolton’s security system on March 4, following a three year struggle during which Westhoughton’s security system was deemed ‘outdated’.

But with the collapse of NCP, Westhoughton’s project has now been severely jeopardised.

Bolton Council operates a number of CCTV systems for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime, controlling traffic and to keep people safe . The CCTV network covering the town centre is operated by NCP

NCP went into liquidation in March (Image: Newsquest)

Westhoughton Mayor Cllr Gillian Wroe said: “I almost cried when I found out – this has been nearly three years of my life.

“NCP going into liquidation has a massive impact on us and our CCTV.

“I’ve attempted to contact NCP about it, but nothing has been forthcoming – as we never fully signed the contract with them, we might not have the same right to information.”

Cllr Wroe contacted Bolton Council to ask what they were doing with their systems following the collapse of NCP.

Market Street, Westhoughton (Image: Dan Dougherty)

She said that Bolton Council officers responded that things were still in the air, and that until things were more settled, they could not give Westhoughton an update on potential next steps.

Although it was agreed that Westhoughton would be added to Bolton’s NCP contract, Westhoughton did not manage to finalise the deal before NCP collapsed.

This means that, although they do not have the CCTV cameras they wanted, they have not lost any money.

The six cameras would have monitored Westhoughton’s Market Street, Library Street car park, and Ditchfield Gardens car park.

Ditchfield Gardens Car Park, Westhoughton (Image: Google Maps)

NCP would have reviewed the footage from their office in Bolton town centre.

Cllr David Wilkinson said: “This is a major problem, not just for us to get a new system in place, but as a security issue.

“It also affects Bolton, so I imagine it will be resolved fairly quickly.”

The council will now hold off on making a decision until Bolton Council have made theirs.

The back of Library Street Car Park, Westhoughton (Image: Google Maps)

This is because they do not want to go back to monitoring their own CCTV after several years of work, and they anticipate Bolton will not take long in reaching a conclusion.

Councillors expressed concern that waiting too long may result in them getting a worse price for the service.

The contract they were about to sign with NCP was for a fixed price – waiting for a period before signing a contract with someone else is likely to result in a higher cost than they originally prepared to pay.

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “We are aware of the situation regarding NCP and the appointment of an administrator.

“Currently all NCP car parks in Bolton are open and CCTV provision is operating as normal.

“We are in close discussion with NCP, and the public will be informed if there is any change to NCP car parks in Bolton.”