Fears Over Secret Village Hall Audio Recordings Aired At Tense Public Meeting

Fears over secret audio recordings at a village hall were shared at a tense public meeting on the Isle of Wight this week.

It was alleged a ‘very serious’ breach of data protection rules was made by at least one member of Wroxall Community Association’s (WCA) committee, Will Batts told the forum at Stenbury Hall in Wroxall on Wednesday (August 19).

Mr Batts said he joined the board of WCA, a charity, last Tuesday (August 11) and said the panel must remember ‘they are here to serve the community, not their own gratification’.

The WCA today (Friday, August 21) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) its trustees are not listening to recordings and there has been no data breach.

It claimed this has been confirmed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a public body.

The charity also said Mr Batts is not and has never been a trustee of WCA.

Stenbury Hall, described as a ‘popular’ multi-use community sports hall, party and event venue on its website, is run by the WCA and receives parish council grant funding, the meeting was told.

At the start of the session, former trustee Sam said he became aware of the existence of ‘audio capability’ within the hall and of ‘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 the organiser of the meeting, Jo, was read out on her behalf and said over recent months she has tried ‘repeatedly’ to ‘raise concerns’.

“I have attempted to communicate via email and to resolve matters constructively and privately wherever possible,” it said.

“These concerns specifically related to the audio recording and CCTV system – there are very strict rules regarding the use and access of audio recording.

“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.

“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.”

The statement added that these are ‘reasonable questions’ and the community deserves ‘clear information’ about the arrangements in place.

Aviv Goode, who runs The View Cafe at Stenbury Hall, said she was made aware of the audio recording a few months back and was shown videos which contained 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.

“I am also aware there has been an effort to shut the cafe down for reasons never made clear to myself, leaving me defenceless.

"I can only surmise that this is due to overhearing things and not liking what they’re hearing – maybe that’s why no one should have access to people’s conversations in the first place.”

The owner said she had ‘tried repeatedly’ to challenge the audio issue in a friendly and informal manner but ‘only had resistance’.

She added her business and livelihood are in the ‘firing line’.

Earlier this week, one of the WCA trustees, 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.

“Any incidents that happen at the hall need to be internally investigated and not raised at an open meeting.

"A reminder that Stenbury Hall is run as a charity and not a public body; the board of trustees are all volunteers who work for no gain for the benefit of the users.”

Mr Batts said it was not true the meeting was called without the engagement of trustees and added that the latter were invited.

The WCA told the LDRS its trustees ‘agreed’ and ‘fully supported’ Mr Prior’s statement.

“The current CCTV system was installed seven years ago,” the charity said.

“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.”