A DECISION to switch off three speed cameras in Derby has been hailed as a move away from a "surveillance society".

Members of Derby City Council's cabinet last night approved a 12-week trial which will see the cameras covered up, although speeds will still be monitored.

It came despite objections from Paul Bayliss, leader of the Labour opposition, who said: "I'm seriously worried. Speeding will return to previous levels – I am absolutely certain that will happen."

But council leader Harvey Jennings hit back, saying speed cameras were "redundant technology".

He said drivers who lived locally knew which cameras had film in and which did not, while sat-navs warned them when they were approaching camera sites.

Mr Jennings said: "We are not doing this irresponsibly. We are taking a very mature approach to it, not just pulling the speed cameras."

The authority, he said, was not making a knee-jerk reaction like other councils in Oxford and Wiltshire, where all speed cameras have been switched off.

Instead it was looking at alternatives, such as vehicle-activated signs and a reduction in speed limits.

Councillor Evonne Williams said there were five cameras in her Spondon ward and everyone knew they did not have any film in.

And Councillor Matthew Holmes, cabinet member for planning and the environment, also supported turning off cameras. He said: "We need to be moving away from a surveillance society."

The cameras to be covered up in the three-month trial are those in Burton Road, near its junction with Manor Road and Warwick Avenue; at the site near the Pentagon Island in Nottingham Road, Chaddesden; and near the Bridge Inn, in Shelton Lock.

A speed-activated warning sign will be put up for the first six weeks after the turn-off, on September 27.

Mr Bayliss, citing figures from Derbyshire Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team, said the number of people killed or injured at each site had fallen since cameras were installed.

The figures, however, were disputed by cabinet members, who said they covered accidents over large distances, rather than at those exact three spots.

As part of the review, the speed limit on the A608 Mansfield Road will also be cut from 40mph to 30mph.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that cameras bought by the council to monitor bus lanes will no longer be installed. They may be moved to outside schools instead.

Former council leader Hilary Jones fears bus lanes could become a "free for all" if cameras were taken away.

But Mr Holmes said he "did not perceive there to be a big problem with the abuse of bus lanes" – and said he was happy for people to correct him if he was wrong.