A £180,000 upgrade of CCTV cameras in Hadleigh and Sudbury have been given the go-ahead.

East Anglian Daily Times: Babergh District Council cabinet member for communities, Derek Davis, said the cameras would give a boost to the economies of both towns. Picture: ARCHANTBabergh District Council cabinet member for communities, Derek Davis, said the cameras would give a boost to the economies of both towns. Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant)

The current network of cameras – 17 in Sudbury and seven in Hadleigh – were installed in 2000 and are now desperately outdated.

Babergh District Council’s cabinet on Monday agreed to pump £180,000 into overhauling the system, which will begin with a £43,000 short term upgrade to have both analogue and wireless cameras to be completed within a few months.

The remaining £140,000 will be spent over the next 18 months to establish a modern wireless CCTV network which will link up with the control centre in West Suffolk.

According to the council, the new system will mean new cameras can be added more easily in future, temporary cameras can be delpoyed and hooked up to the network where necessary, faults can be fixed wirelessly and cable costs can be reduced.

Councillor Derek Davis, cabinet member for communities, said: “This project demonstrates Babergh District Council’s continued commitment to investing heavily in Sudbury and Hadleigh as part of our vision to regenerate the two towns and support their economic recovery.

“The decision made today provides peace of mind to those residents that we are doing all we can to keep their towns safer.”

Mr Davis said that it would be a key feature in reducing anti-social behaviour and crime, and in turn would help both towns’ economies and tourism.

The authority has been working alongside Suffolk Constabulary and both Sudbury and Hadleigh town councils on the proposals, which include financial contributions from the two town councils towards the annual runnings costs.

Councillor Michael Holt said it was “long overdue” and would help reassure locals.

It is understood the work will likely be financed in part by developer contributions known as community infrastructure levy (CIL).

The West Suffolk control room has a 24/7 operation to monitor CCTV, according to the council.

The authority does not have a statutory requirement to provide CCTV, but a spokeswoman said that it believes having the coverage helps reduce crime and disorder, as well as helping police officers in their searches for missing people.