By Mikayla van Loon
As the first of the townships to gain a CCTV network in the Yarra Ranges, fundraised through a community effort, the desire and need for this system in Lilydale remains.
But being the oldest means over time the critical infrastructure has become dilapidated beyond repair with no funds available to fix it.
It’s something that has been on the agenda for the Lilydale Township Action Group (LTAG) since its inception but like most groups, finding the right avenue to fund the replacement has been met with challenges.
“We’ve advocated pretty strongly that these cameras need to come back for a safety point of view and for a community response. It’s hard because no one seems to be able to say definitively what we need to do. Most of the cameras are obsolete and no longer in use,” LTAG president Neal Taylor said.
“There’s been a lot of hand wringing and tossing the ball to and from different organisations.”
Mr Taylor estimates that 90 per cent of the cameras in Lilydale need replacing but “there’s no money around at the moment for them to be repaired or replaced”.
Lilydale CFA captain Warren Davis has been on the other side of the response over the years, responding to fires around town but also noticing vandals targeting places like the White Dog Hotel, donation bins and playgrounds.
“The crime in Lilydale is getting out of control. We’ve responded to rubbish bins that have been set fire to, play equipment being vandalised,” he said.
“Kids, they’re treating (the White Dog) now like it’s a haunted house, breaking into it constantly and our concern is that someone’s going to set fire to it.
“Shops are vulnerable now because we don’t have CCTV. People feel vulnerable walking down the street at night time.”
Seeing the benefit of the cameras when the existing ones were in good condition, Mr Taylor said it did help.
“It keeps down anti-social behaviour. It helps with crime prevention and also keeping track of crime. I think it would deter things like drug and alcohol abuse, particularly drug transactions that are happening,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be beneficial for the community. It’s just trying to work out how. Who would maintain them, and who would look after them, and who’s going to fund them. So there’s a lot of questions around this that need to be answered.”
Mr Davis said from what he understands the cameras originally installed only lined one side of Main Street but he would like to see this extended to both sides and throughout the main parts of the township.
He too said active CCTV would benefit the township greatly, even just to deter one person.
“Just to try and curb vandalism and make the streets safer. If people know that there are cameras operating in the area, it may deter them from venturing into the area and causing vandalism,” Mr Davis said.
“Graffiti at the moment around Lilydale is totally out of control. So if (police) had footage, they could see who’s doing it and make an arrest.
“I don’t know whether it’s the state government or local government, but somebody needs to make a commitment. They really have the duty of care to make sure that everybody has a safe passage whilst being in the main street.”
The major hurdle of funding the project, however, is keeping township groups like LTAG in limbo.
“There’s no real definitive funding choice. I know that in the past, it’s had federal funding but it’s unfortunate that that funding is not available at the moment,” Mr Taylor said.
“As a community group, we brought it up at a shire-wide meeting and a lot of the township groups that have cameras in their areas are still also struggling for the same reason. There was some movement about maybe banding together to try and find some funding.”
Despite this, Mr Taylor said while LTAG would be happy to advocate for the upgrading, he does not think the responsibility should fall on the township and traders groups to manage the maintenance and funding.
