Closed Circuit Television - CCTV
Cheshire East Council operates a borough-wide CCTV system to help keep our communities safe. CCTV plays a vital role in preventing and detecting crime, supporting emergency services, and providing reassurance to residents, businesses, and visitors.
How our CCTV system works
Our CCTV network operates on a secure, closed-loop system. Unlike broadcast television, CCTV footage is only accessible to authorised personnel in our central monitoring control room, located at Macclesfield Town Hall. The system uses a fibre-optic cable network to transmit live footage from cameras to the control room.
Coverage and maintenance
We currently operate CCTV in 13 towns across Cheshire East. The system is maintained by a dedicated team of CCTV Maintenance Technicians who ensure all equipment is functioning effectively.
Standards and accreditation
We are proud to meet the highest industry standards. Our CCTV service has passed a voluntary audit by the Home Office Surveillance Camera
Commissioner and has been awarded:
- The Commissioner’s Code of Practice Mark (valid until 2025)
- British Standard BS7958 for the Management and Operation of Public Space CCTV .
Code of Practice for CCTV
We also follow the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s 12 Guiding Principles and our own Code of Practice (PDF, 631KB) which is reviewed annually.
Benefits of CCTV
CCTV helps to:
- deter crime and antisocial behaviour
- support police investigations
- provide evidence for prosecutions
- increase public confidence and safety
Our operators work closely with Cheshire Police and other emergency services. When incidents occur, they can alert the police and guide them to the scene in real time.
Who can view the CCTV
Our team includes:
- 8 BTEC Advanced trained CCTV Operators
- 2 Advanced qualified Supervisors
- 1 BTEC Professional qualified CCTV Manager
All staff are vetted by Cheshire Police and hold NPPV Level 2 clearance. Live footage may also be shared with Cheshire Police when necessary.
How long images are kept for
Images/ recordings are kept on the control room system for a maximum period of 21 days unless they are required for evidential purposes for criminal prosecution. In such instances, the information is retained on a secure server for 6 months, although it may be kept by Cheshire Police until after the court cases are completed, including any appeal that might be made. At the end of the 21 day period the information in the control room is automatically overwritten.
Cameras in Cheshire East
There are currently over 153 ‘on street’ cameras deployed in and around the Cheshire East. We have 13 mobile CCTV cameras which can respond to changing activity across the borough.
CCTV operators are instrumental in dealing with approximately 1,100 incidents a month. Many of these incidents have assisted the Police in undertaking their duties.
Camera locations
You can view the locations of our public space CCTV cameras across Cheshire East. Our permanent CCTV cameras are in yellow and our redeployable CCTV units are in red.
Requests to review or release CCTV
All requests for the release of data shall be channelled through the Councils’ Information Rights Team who can be emailed on informationrequests@cheshireeast.gov.uk. The Operational Manager will then investigate the request and will at all times ensure that the procedures comply with the Data Protection legislation.
Data from the CCTV system is primarily released to the Police and any other agencies as agreed by the Information Rights Team and the Operational Manager. In certain circumstances it can also be released to members of the general public whose images happen to get recorded, as long as the relevant requests have been made to the Information Rights Team via the informationrequests@cheshireeast.gov.uk address.
We make a charge for this service. The fees are:
- £62 +VAT per hour to review the CCTV and
- £62 +VAT for a copy of the disc
- There are no charges for Subject Access Requests
We are governed by GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 so we will be unable to give out any personal data including yours unless you make a specific request as per the below section “The Procedure for the release of evidence.
Subject Access Requests
Under certain circumstances, footage can also be released to members of the general public whose images happen to get recorded, as long as the relevant requests have been made to the Information Rights Team. The images of anybody except the requester will be blurred out prior to release. To make a Subject Access Request, visit our right of access page.
Surveillance camera commissioner - self assessment tool and code of practice
Your organisation should comply with the 12 guiding principles of the surveillance camera code of practice. Complete this easy to use self assessment tool (PDF, 285KB) to find out if yours does.
This self assessment tool will help you and your organisation identify if you’re complying with the principles in the code. It should be completed in conjunction with the surveillance camera code of practice.
CCTV documents
Annual reviews for the Town Centre CCTV Scheme alongside statistics and consultation results.
Contact the Community Safety team
To request a review of the CCTV Footage, email: informationrequests@cheshireeast.gov.uk
For general enquiries, email control.room@cheshireeast.gov.uk. We aim to respond to emails within 72 hours. Do not use for emergencies.
For Police emergencies, dial 999 or 101 depending on severity and the Police will radio the Control Room.
Contact the Control Room Manager
Email: control.room@cheshireeast.gov.uk and title your message "FAO the CR Manager."
To give feedback see the the Customer feedback, complaints and compliments page
Page last reviewed: 22 May 2025
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