SECURITY cameras should be installed in Congleton town centre by next spring as part of a crackdown on crime across the borough.

Ten new CCTV cameras are set to be installed in the borough including two in Congleton, one in Alsager and three in Sandbach.

The cameras in Congleton would be placed at Swan Bank, covering Mill Street and the pathway through to the Antrobus Street car park, and on Market Street outside the Royal Bank of Scotland.

That camera would cover Market Street, Moody Street and High Street and both would be scanning the town centre 24 hours a day with the control room based in Alsager.

Congleton Borough Council put forward a capital bid for £80,000 last year which was granted.

The full cost of the scheme is £165,000 and the Policy and Resources Committee is to be asked for the remaining money at its next meeting in October.

David Foster, borough environment and public protection assistant head, said he was very hopeful that the committee would approve the money.

"The feedback I am getting is very positive," he said. "We will be looking at the next financial year and asking for another capital bid to extend the cameras.

"This is all being done in conjunction with the police and we have had meetings to determine where the cameras are being sited.

"If we are going to cut crime in the town centre this is a good step forward."

Congleton Crime Prevention Officer Julie Ledgar said they had surveyed the town to see where the most effective places for the cameras would be.

"It should make people feel safer and more confident and encourage more people to come into Congleton," she said.

"It also has deterrent value if offenders are possibly local and are caught on camera they know they are going to be identified."

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