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Discreet CCTV supporting preparedness at a UK visitor attraction under Martyn’s Law

CCTV and Martyn’s Law: What Visitor Attractions Need to Know

Beyond1066 Security Hits: 82 4 minutes read

As visitor attractions, heritage sites and public venues welcome thousands of guests each year, expectations around safety, preparedness and duty of care are evolving.

One of the most significant developments in this space is Martyn’s Law, enacted UK legislation designed to improve protective security and preparedness at publicly accessible locations.

For venues open to the public, this isn’t about turning welcoming spaces into fortresses. It’s about being thoughtful, proportionate and prepared, and for many venues, that starts with how CCTV is planned and deployed.

What Is Martyn’s Law?

Martyn’s Law, also known as the Protect Duty, aims to ensure that operators of publicly accessible locations take reasonable and proportionate steps to reduce the risk of terrorism and improve preparedness for incidents.

It focuses on:

  • Awareness of potential risks
  • Having sensible plans and procedures
  • Training staff appropriately
  • Putting proportionate physical and technical measures in place

The intention is not to burden venues, but to raise a consistent baseline of preparedness across places where the public gathers. For most venues, this will involve reviewing existing safety, security and incident-response arrangements, not starting from scratch.

Why CCTV Is a Key Part of Preparedness

CCTV is not about surveillance for its own sake. In the context of Martyn’s Law, it plays a role in:

  • Deterrence: Visible cameras can reduce the likelihood of hostile or inappropriate behaviour.
  • Early awareness: Staff can spot unusual activity sooner and respond faster.
  • Incident response: Live and recorded footage supports teams during and after incidents.
  • Evidence and learning: Footage supports investigations and post-incident reviews.

For visitor venues, this is about supporting people and processes, not replacing them. CCTV should complement staff awareness, good layout design, and clear operational procedures, alongside measures like access control and resilient connectivity.

The Challenge for Visitor and Heritage Venues

Unlike modern shopping centres or stadiums, many venues operate in:

  • Listed buildings
  • Historic interiors
  • Open-air heritage sites
  • Mixed-use spaces with cafés, exhibitions, gift shops and events
  • Environments where aesthetics and atmosphere matter

A heavy-handed or visually intrusive approach can damage the visitor experience and conflict with conservation goals. That’s why a thoughtful, discreet and proportionate CCTV design is critical.

What Proportionate CCTV Looks Like

1) Risk-Led Design

Coverage is based on entrance and exit flows, busy areas and pinch points, staff-only or restricted spaces, and areas where incidents are more likely to occur. This is not blanket coverage. It is purposeful coverage.

2) Discreet, Venue-Appropriate Hardware

  • Small, unobtrusive cameras
  • Carefully chosen mounting locations
  • Colours and finishes that blend into the environment
  • Avoiding visual clutter in public-facing spaces

3) Good Visibility for Staff, Not Constant Monitoring

Most venues do not need someone watching cameras 24/7. Instead, staff know where coverage exists, live views are available when needed, and incident triggers are clearly defined.

4) Integration with Procedures and Training

CCTV works best when paired with staff awareness training, clear incident and escalation procedures, and defined responsibilities during an incident.

How Beyond1066 Approaches CCTV and Martyn’s Law

Beyond1066 supports visitor attractions with reliable systems designed for peak arrivals, busy intervals and seasonal demand, while remaining discreet, resilient and simple for your team to manage.

We don’t start with hardware. We start with how your venue operates, where people and visitors move, and what good preparedness means for your environment. Then we design CCTV and supporting systems around that reality, often integrating with environmental monitoring.

Getting Ready Doesn’t Mean Getting Alarmist

Martyn’s Law is about awareness, preparedness and sensible planning, not fear or heavy-handed security. For most venues, being ready means reviewing current arrangements, making small targeted improvements, training staff appropriately, and ensuring systems like CCTV are purposeful.

If You’d Like a Sensible Review

If you’d like an objective, venue-specific review of your current CCTV coverage, how it supports incident response, and whether it aligns with emerging expectations around Martyn’s Law, we’re happy to help.

Contact Beyond1066 to start a conversation or explore our CCTV services in more detail.

Because good security should feel calm, supportive and well thought through, not imposed.