Fears over secret audio recordings at a village hall were shared at a tense public meeting in Wroxall this week.
It was alleged a ‘very serious’ breach of data protection rules was made by at least 1 member of Wroxall Community Association’s (WCA) committee, Will Batts told the forum at Stenbury Hall in Wroxall earlier this week (19th August).
Mr Batts said he joined the board of the charity on 11th August, adding that the panel must remember ‘they are here to serve the community, not their own gratification’.
However, WCA told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that its trustees are not listening to recordings and there has been no data breach.
It said this had been confirmed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and added that Mr Batts is not and has never been a WCA trustee.
Stenbury Hall, a multi-use community sports hall and event venue, is run by WCA and receives parish council grant funding, the meeting heard.
Former trustee Sam said he became aware of ‘audio capability’ within the hall and ‘concerns surrounding its use’.
He said:
“The community is entitled to understand what the previous audio system is capable of, whether audio was recorded or accessed, who had access to it, what safeguards were in place and whether independent data protection advice had been obtained.”
A statement from meeting organiser Jo said she had tried ‘repeatedly’ to raise concerns about the CCTV and audio system.
It said:
“Unfortunately, a number of my emails have gone unanswered. I have heard from three individuals who have stated they have been shown Stenbury Hall CCTV with audio recordings from a trustee’s mobile phone.
Article continues below this advertisement “People using community facilities should be able to understand whether they are being recorded, what is being recorded, why recordings are being made, who has access to them, how long they are retained and under what circumstances they may be shared or used.”
Aviv Goode, who runs The View Cafe at Stenbury Hall, said she became aware of the audio recording a few months ago and was shown videos containing audio.
She said:
“I challenged this as I did not know the exact legalities of the matter…the easy access with the system being on a private phone concerned me.
“I felt uncomfortable as I know many people trust that privacy is a given in the cafe and I felt that this was being betrayed. I have been offered to view and listen to recordings of other people against their knowledge – I refused, this is illegal.”
Aviv said she had ‘tried repeatedly’ to challenge the issue but had ‘only had resistance’, adding that her business and livelihood were in the ‘firing line’.
Earlier this week, WCA trustee Mic Prior posted a statement on Facebook which was read out at the meeting.
It said:
“The fact that this meeting is being called for without the engagement of the trustees, a chair has been selected without consultation with the charity, and the agenda is compiled without input from the charity means this meeting is not recognised by the charity as being legitimate or on an unbiased basis.
“Regarding the CCTV/audio, all audio recording has been switched off. However, if anyone has any personal concerns, please email any questions or concerns directly to us, and we will seek external professional advice to provide a proper answer where necessary.”
Mr Batts disputed that trustees had not been engaged, saying they had been invited.
WCA told the LDRS its trustees ‘agreed’ with and ‘fully supported’ Mr Prior’s statement.
The charity said:
“The current CCTV system was installed seven years ago. It is a secure commercial system that is encrypted. The system has a disabled but built-in audio capability.
“The CCTV system is a closed system, with full encryption and password protection. It is secure and only accessible to the named data controller, Wroxall Community Association.
“There is currently no ability to download or share recorded data without an external drive, and no data has been stored on anyone’s personal devices.”
