CONCERN over CCTV cameras recording private conversations led to objections after they were installed at an East Lothian home.

The owner of the property on Gullane’s Hummel Road said they installed the Ring CCTV cameras and security lights after claiming houses in the area had been broken into.

However their neighbours objected saying the lights shone into their garden, the cameras could be pointed into other residences and that the system recorded sound as well as vision.

They also insisted there was no police evidence that houses in the area were being targeted by thieves and said the cameras “did not create a sense of safety and security” for them.

A report on a retrospective planning application for the CCTV system, says objectors added: “The CCTV has an audio function and not only is the applicant filming but is also capable of listening in to private conversations.

“The cameras are causing light pollution in the rear garden, spilling into the objector’s property.”

It adds: “The objector seeks assurances that the operation of the CCTV is monitored to ensure privacy, cameras at the back door and bathroom are removed and relocated, other cameras operated are manually angled away from the property and outdoor private areas of the objector.”

The report from planning officers recommends councillors approve the application which covers four CCTV cameras and 10  outdoor lights on the property.

It describes the lighting units as small and “discreetly positioned” and says the CCTV cameras are not “harmfully prominent, intrusive, or incongruous additions to the house.”

It adds: “As small sympathetic additions to the building they do not harm the character and appearance of the house or the character and appearance of this part of the Gullane Conservation Area.”

The application, submitted by Simon McIntosh, will be heard by East Lothian planning committee at a meeting on Tuesday.