Rodwell Trail CCTV is finally working after two years

There have long been calls for security cameras to watch over the Rodwell Trail,  a popular walking and cycling trail, which is blighted by crime.

Campaigners are delighted that two years after Dorset Council successfully bid for almost £250,000 of government funding for initiatives to make women and girls feel safer, the cameras are working.

The Safer Streets funding, from August 2022, was planned to be spent on various projects including six cameras.

This followed a campaign in 2018 to have the CCTV installed after a spate of violent and drug-related crimes and to deter anti-social behaviour on the trail.

READ MORE: Still no CCTV after two years - and cyclist hit by bottle wants action

The Echo reported last year how the poles for the cameras had been erected but there were no cameras as there had been problems connecting them with a power supply.

Despite works finally getting underway in the new year to connect the CCTV cameras, the system was ‘unable to go live’ at that time due to a ‘series of problems’ encountered by contractors.

Graffiti on Rodwell Trail (Image: Cristiano Magaglio)

Due to delays, the cameras cost more money than the government grant allowed for.

Dorset Council has now confirmed the cameras are operational. Locations include - at the entrance to the trail behind the Weymouth Outdoor Education Centre; next to the old WW2 gun emplacement above the Marsh; near the tunnel beneath Wyke Road (below); next to Buxton Road bridge.

READ MORE: Footpath security cameras remain off amid power supply problems

READ MORE: £250k helped to provide CCTV at a crime hotspot - but the cameras have never worked

Rodwell Trail CCTV (Image: Cristiano Magaglio) Luke Wakeling and Claudia Webb are committee members of the Friends of Rodwell Trail and Sandsfoot Castle.

Luke said: "The community have been asking us when it is going to be installed for a long time now. It's good to see it finally up and running.

"I hope it will deter the very small minority that behave anti-socially along the trail and make it feel safer for everyone."

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Rodwell Trail CCTV (Image: Cristiano Magaglio)

Claudia added: “We are really happy about it. Dorset Council have done really well along with the Police and Crime Commissioner and Weymouth Town Council.

“It is also good that they are focusing on ways to increase safety going forward. We are really proud of the trail. There have been a few incidents where bad things have happened that made the headlines and hopefully people will now feel safe and enjoy it as the haven it is.

“This shows what we can do as a community. A lot of people wanted the cameras on the trail. Hopefully everyone will now feel safer.”

Luke Wakeling, Friends of Rodwell Trail committee member (Image: Hollie Carr)

Marianne Storey, Chair of Dorset Women CIC said: “Some horrible crimes have taken place in this location so, at Dorset Women, we are really pleased to see this proactive measure being taken.

“CCTV is a helpful tool for the police to investigate crimes that take place in remote places like the Rodwell Trail, but importantly it can act as a deterrent to prevent crimes happening in the first place.

“This is particularly important for women or girls feeling unsafe when they're travelling alone. But, of course, CCTV doesn't work just on its own, it needs to be used as part of a range of different measures to prevent crime and we are offering to work with the police and the councils to do that.”

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Weymouth Town Councillor Lee Harmsworth of the Westham East ward added: “I am very glad more CCTV cameras are now here, and I also hope that this will make it easier to bring anyone who misbehaves to justice swiftly.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: “We are delighted that the CCTV on the Rodwell Trail is now operational. This has taken much longer than we had expected, due to a number of significant location and connection challenges.

"The Rodwell Trail is an attractive off-road walking and cycling link between Weymouth and Ferry Bridge, but in recent years it has also become blighted by anti-social behaviour.

“We hope the six cameras placed along the trail will help change this by deterring the minority of people seeking to engage in anti-social behaviour here, thereby helping other residents feel safer.”