TAXPAYERS money has not been wasted on encouraging residents to “hunt” Pokemon, a councillor has been assured.
Councillor Mark Shaw, (Cons, Bingley) recently asked a full meeting of Bradford Council whether the presence of the Pokemon Go app on the council website had cost the council anything. He said: “Would the leader agree with me that these funds and the officer time in organising this frivolity would be better directed to essential front line services?” He also asked if the council was liable for any children "coming to harm" while playing the game.
Last summer, to tie in with the popular mobile phone game, there was an update to the Bradford Council app which featured a map showing Pokémon GO locations in the district, as well as free Wi-Fi zones. The aim of the game is to visit real world locations and "trap" the fictional creatures at these locations using an augmented reality phone app.
A response to Cllr Shaw said: “No costs were involved in the presence of the Pokemon app, other than 30 minutes officer time.”
The council also confirmed there had been no Pokemon related injuries since the launch in July.
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