COUNCILLORS have agreed a new three-year deal for CCTV in Middlewich.

The town council will pay £11,219 each year from April 2021 to March 2024, with that price locked in to avoid a potential cost increase in line with inflation.

A report presented to councillors on Tuesday showed that full CCTV monitoring had been maintained throughout the pandemic, and while contingency plans are in place, they have not been needed so far.

It added that from July to September last year, Middlewich’s CCTV was checked to assist police on 36 occasions, with the most frequent use being to help find missing or wanted people.

Cllr Carol Bulman said: “We know we would like to get more use out of the CCTV and we keep pushing the police for greater responses and results from it.

“But we also do know that in the years since we have had CCTV [cameras] they do have a deterrent effect, there’s no doubt about it.

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“Things have got better where CCTV has been known to exist for a certain amount of time. It has an effect.

“We know we’re not going to reject CCTV, it’s part of the modern world, it’s part of a range of things we use.

“Police may not prosecute but they do follow up, and some of those follow-ups do have an impact.”