Go-ahead for CCTV cameras in Navan
Meath County Council has secured planning permission for 58 new CCTV cameras in Navan as part of the town's battle against crime and anti-social behaviour .
The extension to the CCTV scheme which will see a tenfold in the number of cameras in the town. The 58 additional units will cover an extensive area including Johnstown and the laneways in the centre of the town.
Four of the new cameras will cover the Convent Road area where there have been increasing problems with anti social behaviour. There will be cameras at the new park and ride facility at Moathill, Preston Lane, Cornmarket and adjacent to the Andy Brennan Park.
Among the other new cameras will be units located at Johnstown Village, the Dan Shaw Road and Commons Road, Windtown Road, Kilcarn Bridge and St Columba's Crescent.
The new cameras will be mounted on steel pole structures measuring between 7.3 metres and 10 metres in height. There are currently six in operation in the centre of the town.
Cllr Emer Toibin said that crime and anti social behaviour had dramatically reduced following the installation of CCTV in Duleek.
She said there were still several steps in the process before the cameras would be activated.
"An application has to be made to the Garda Commissioner and a data impact assessment has to be approved by the councils data protection officer," she said,
"We have bit been given a timeline for when this will happen.
"I welcome progress on it, but I'm impatient to see it activated, so people can feel safe going about their business day and night," she said.
Cllr Eddie Fennessy said that Navan would be a safer place for its installation. "That has to be welcomed," he said. "Communities regularly ask for my assistance in dealing with issues of anti-social behaviour. So much so, that I've organised eight community safety meetings over the past year or so. I'd like to commend the Community Garda section for their active participation in those and also for their follow up with issues raised by local residents right across Navan.
"I expect the levels of anti-social behaviour to reduce drastically in areas where the CCTV has been installed. It's not only a key deterrent but will provide more effective evidence and deliver better outcomes during criminal investigations," he said.