Councillors are being asked at Monday’s Marlborough Town Council meeting to make a final decision on the long-awaited – and much delayed – CCTV system for the High Street.
A report by the town clerk Shelley Parker warns that a system of deployable cameras discussed by the council in January will cost more than the £20,000 allocated to the project.
Wiltshire’s area board for Marlborough has also earmarked £5,000 for CCTV in the town through an awards scheme application by Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.
But Mrs Parker points out that a mobile phone network, which will enable video pictures from cameras placed at crime hot spots, will also be required plus a maintenance contract for the system.
Preliminary investigations have also revealed that deployable cameras – four have been suggested – cost £5,400 each and each relocation costs £750.
Her report adds that there is a cheaper alternative by introducing a fixed CCTV system using four or five cameras at fixed points.
The town clerk recommends that councillors now decide whether a redeployable CCTV system – as recommended by Councillor Nick Fogg in a 3,000 word report – is the most cost effective solution, and whether a professional proposal is now required once a final specification has been worked out with the Chamber of Commerce.
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