David Ruffley MP has today written to Chief Inspector Mike Bacon and the Chief Executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Geoff Rivers, over concerns that CCTV coverage of the Cattle Market development will not be fed through to the Bury St Edmunds CCTV control room.

The 'Arc' development will have its own CCTV network and although there will be the ability to upload footage to the main network the two will not be linked.

David said:

'This looks like a lack of joined up thinking. We have an excellent CCTV control room in Bury St Edmunds and now that the town centre is being expanded it would seem logical that this network would extend.

'I have today written to Chief Inspector Mike Bacon and the Chief Executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Geoff Rivers, asking if they share my concerns. It worries me that a criminal could be followed by CCTV in the town, only to drop off the radar as they enter the new development.

'While I am reassured that there will be links between the two networks and that images can be uploaded it would seem far more sensible, in the long run, to have one network covering the town- or at least live feeds shared between the two.'