COUNCIL bosses want to run down the clock on the region’s crumbling CCTV network.

Although officers don’t believe immediate decommissioning of the area’s 70 cameras should be undertaken, they are recommending that members of the local authority only approve enough cash to continue minimal ad-hoc maintenance.

And once the dated systems finally falter, they should be removed.

Currently one-in-four of the cameras around Borders town centres aren’t working with many more expected to go offline in the next couple of years.

The planned eventual black-out of monitoring in eight town centres – Duns, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick, Kelso, Melrose, Peebles and Selkirk – follows a region-wide consultation.

Although the majority of the 436 respondents believed that CCTV was effective in fighting crime and provided a safer environment, Scottish Borders Council isn’t willing to spend the estimated £680,000 on a replacement system.

SBC team leader Alex Young said: “The council’s current position with regard to CCTV provision is not to install new CCTV equipment or replace life-expired systems but to continue to maintain the current asset within the existing revenue budget until they are beyond economic repair.”

Although the cameras are used to provide evidence following crimes, Police Scotland has continually refused to help fund the upkeep or replacement of the system.

And, with the local authority already footing a £570,000 bill for two Police Community Action Teams, many councillors believe the Police should be paying their way.

Police Scotland didn’t provide any information regarding the use of CCTV during the recent local authority consultation.

Mr Young added: “While the Police are supportive of continuing to provide a CCTV provision within the local communities, Police Scotland are not in a position to contribute to the funding of public space CCTV in the Borders, either in terms of the initial capital investment or on-going revenue costs.

“Officers have unfortunately been unable to determine, or obtain, any substantive data or statistical information that demonstrates the frequency at which CCTV footage is accessed in any given community, the basis on which this footage might be used to support any legal action or community safety initiative or indeed its use in any successful prosecution.

“Police Scotland have been requested to provide a formal statement but unfortunately to date have been unable to do so.”

Councillors are being recommended to continue maintaining the current system until it no longer works when they meet on Thursday.