'Big Brother's watching us'

Hartlepool Mail | August 9 2005

A COUNCIL has been accused of Big Brother tactics after agreeing to spend £5,000 taking photographs of people's homes.

Hartlepool Borough Council will photograph 420 homes in the Headland Conservation area - at a cost of £12 a house.

The pictures will be used to ensure owners cannot make changes to their homes which alter the character of the area.

Headland families say it's underhand and a waste of taxpayers' money.
But a council spokesman said it was a way of preserving the area for future generations.

Andrew Holmes, 40, who lives in Beaconsfield Street, with wife Marita and daughter Laura, said: "It is an invasion of privacy - they are taking photos of people's houses without telling them and then using it against them. It's underhand."

The Headland Conservation area covers homes in an area which is sandwiched between the Heugh Battery, St Hilda's Church and the promenade.

According to a council report, the photographs will "provide evidence of the state a property is in at a moment in time".

The report goes on to say: "Such records are useful on two counts - they provide information on how an area has changed.

"And, in addition, if householders do carry out works without permission, photographic records can be used as evidence in planning applications and appeals, as examples of works that have been carried out at a building."
Steve Allison, chairman of the Headland Residents' Association, said: "The council appears to have plenty of money to prosecute and persecute residents, but it doesn't have money to actively help us. It is an invasion of privacy, it is like Big Brother watching you."

A spokesman for the council said: "A similar exercise was carried out in 2002 and it is important to have a photographic record of properties in such an important part of the town.

"The photographs are often used when residents make enquiries about improvements to their homes and the council is able to look at a picture of the property immediately and give the appropriate advice.
"It will also act as an historical record which will be available for generations to come."

The money being spent by the council is part of a planning delivery grant of £370,220, which was given to the local authority by the Government.

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