A President Obama-style new initiative to end the deadlock over the introduction of CCTV in Marlborough’s famous High Street has been made by Paul Shimell, president of Marlborough Chamber of Chamber.
Councillors clashed on Monday in an embarrassing debate over a much criticised – and defeated — working party report which called for £20,000 to be earmarked for a four-camera system backed only by five Tory councillors.
The decision shocked traders urged to attending the meeting but unable to take part in the debate, who stormed out of the town hall before a second motion was carried.
This called for a new evidence-based factual report to be prepared and put before an open public forum meeting to consider all the for and against issues, including the fact that Marlborough has an historically low crime rate.
Now Mr Shimell has e-mailed Marlborough’s Mayor Edwina Fogg referring to President Obama’s election victory speech in which he declared that political differences must not be allowed to halt the vital solutions needed to solve America’s economic problems.
And he called on Marlborough town council to organise the public debate as soon as possible to find a positive way forward following protests he has received from frustrated Chamber members who were unable to voice their views.
But to his surprise, Mr Shimell, who owns the SpecSavers franchise in Marlborough, has received a reply not from the Mayor but from her husband, Councillor Nick Fogg, who declares a public meeting now would be counter-productive (see panel piece).
Mr Shimell told Marlborough News Online: “I am seriously disappointed that the Mayor, our first citizen, has passed my plea to her husband, who was part of the political problem on Monday night, according to your report.”
“Why can’t we have two public meetings, one now so that all the councillors understand exactly what the town, its retailers and residents, think, and then a second one once the town council has formulated its precise plans for CCTV?”
“As it is, I am told it takes only a handful of residents to petition the council for a public meeting to be held. So that may now be our way ahead.”
Mr Shimell’s e-mail to the Mayor said: “I now have a better understanding of Monday night’s events at the town council meeting regarding the introduction of CCTV.”
“The Marlborough News Online report reveals that such a meeting is not a place where the public in general or Chamber of Commerce members can take part in debates and provide the council with their views on CCTV or any other subject, the more so if it is an agenda item in the form of a motion.”
“Nevertheless, you will be aware that the council as a whole has hardly helped itself in the contentious manner in which it considered introducing a four-camera system in the High Street, which has been the subject of meetings the Chamber has had with Marlborough Police and also with your own councillors.”
Then he added: “We need to find a solution, a positive way ahead, just as President Obama announced in his victory speech earlier today, politics has to be pushed aside for the benefit the nation but, in our case, for the viability and future of the local community.”
“Councillor Richard Pitts has suggested an open forum meeting at the town hall, to be held as soon as possible, and I am writing to urge you to organise such a meeting in the coming weeks so that the whole town, not just the traders, can get to grips with all the issues involved.”
“I very much hope that such a meeting will enable the town council to take on the question of funding in these tough times of austerity and come up with a sustainable plan that can be put into action.”
“The economic viability of Marlborough does, as you know, depend very much on its ability to attract people to its High Street shops and other facilities, and for that reason alone I ask you to accept this way forward.”
Mr Shimell had earlier sent an e-mail to the Mayor pointing out that Chamber members were outraged by the fact that her councillor husband, Nick Fogg, had claimed police statistics revealed that there had been only ONE robbery in Marlborough.
“This has really stirred up a hornets nest, as many traders have had £100 to £-1,000 worth of stock stolen,” he pointed out and added: “I have asked ALL the traders to supply me with their own data on theft from their premises, not from staff but from passing visitors. This will give a true picture of the level of theft which is taking place here in Marlborough.”
In fact Mr Fogg was unaware that shoplifting comes under ‘Other Crimes’ in the police statistics, robbery being a much more serious crime. The latest reported cases totalling 30. But councillors are also critical of the fact that retailers do not report thefts because of the fear that ongoing losses will increase the insurance on their premises, thus distorting the true picture of the level of crime.
A CCTV public meeting now would be counter-productive Here in full is Councillor Nick Fogg’s reply to the Chamber of Commerce’s plea for a public meeting to discuss CCTV. He says: “I think it’s important to realise the facts. Two years ago, Marian Hannaford-Dobson offered to produce a report on CCTV. Nothing was forthcoming until a few days ago when a completely inadequate document was produced – if I were still a schoolmaster I would have put a line through it. It goes without saying that it did not address a single practical issue or set the project in context of information or research. What the council is being asked to do is to support a proposal with no content. Its proponents do not appear to have realised that a number plate recognition system, which they constantly refer to, is entirely different from what they are proposing. I would regard a further public meeting before the necessary research has taken place as being counter-productive with the same old mantras being hauled out — and the end result of such a lack of information being the kind of unworkable and expensive system that so many places have fallen for. We have waited for two years and there is still nothing effective on the table. We need a working party to address the issues — this could hopefully produce a result by January — which is a faster time than will be achieved if the current approach, which has brought us no nearer a satisfactory solution after two years of waiting, can possibly achieve. I am happy to start this process off by writing a paper on the issues that need to be covered. We can then, in a calm way, proceed to the solution that is fittest for purpose. I would agree with your last point about attracting people to Marlborough. A clear way to do this is to stress the fact that this is the safest town in Wiltshire, situated in an area which is the third-most crime-free in the nation. The impression given in that absurd report is that criminal gangs roam our streets day and night. I would regard this as the height of irresponsibility. I just hope, for all our sakes, that the insurance companies don’t get to hear of it.” |