Monmouth’s seven CCTV cameras have been given funding for another three years following a late night debate at Monmouth Town Council (MTC).

The contract for the system is due for renewal in March, and there was some doubt that the council would continue with its financial contribution towards the shared system.

The Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) CCTV network covers the four main towns of Chepstow, Caldicot, Monmouth and Abergavenny in partnership with the local town councils.

Under the scheme, each town contributes £12,800 towards the administration and infrastructure of the system. Monmouthshire council contributes £30,000.

Discussing next year’s budget, MTC had to decide whether to continue its contribution, or spend the money on other areas around town following an earlier plea by MCC to help with grass cutting and maintaining the opening hours of the One Stop Shop.

A counter-proposal by Councillor Ann Were to renew the contract for 12 months and demand a “robust evaluation’ of the scheme failed to gain much support.

She had argued that anecdotal evidence was insufficient to warrant justifying the scheme and said she would like to see more details on its aims and objectives.

Cllr Bob Hayward reminded the meeting that the new three year contract had a six month opt-out clause which meant that should the scheme fail to live up to expectations, the council could back out with six months notice. Out of the 14 councillors there, eleven voted in favour of CCTV, two against and one abstained.

It was also agreed that £10,000 should be added to next year’s budget to pay for the costs of taking over the town cemetery.

Despite MCC’s claim there was no space left, councillors had long argued that the cemetery should re-open and had identified an area that was suitable for up to 400 burials, enough to last 30 years.

Cllr Jane Gunter was concerned that more and more money could be spent making sure the cemetery was fit for purpose, but Cllr Chris Munslow was adamant that something had to be done as there was “nowhere in Monmouth to bury people.”

The Blestium Street toilets, which MCC had requested £20,000 to keep open, was a facility that councillors felt important to keep going, and as they already maintain the Agincourt Street conveniences, decided it would be more cost-efficient to request taking over the building themselves rather than contributing towards MCC’s cleaning costs.

The one item they agreed to help MCC with was a £5,000 contribution towards keeping the museum opening hours at their present level.

For the next financial year, 2016/2107, the town council has increased their precept - the money they request from MCC to fund their costs - by £726, less than half a per cent.

The final amount agreed was £237,108.

After the meeting, David Cummings, Chairman of Monmouth and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce commented to the Beacon: “I would like to say a very big thank you to the town council for agreeing to financially support CCTV for another three years.

“This not only provides reassurance to the businesses of our town, but also to tourists and residents alike when they visit our vibrant town centre and surrounding areas, at any time of day or night.”