MANY people in Skipton will be celebrating this week with the news that the town has finally secured funding for a closed circuit television system.

The Home Office has awarded £128,000 towards the total cost of the seven-camera scheme which is estimated at £168,000.

Mick Cartledge, economic and community development officer for Craven District Council, who was instrumental in putting the bid together, said the scheme was much needed in Skipton and the system would hopefully be in place by September.

The project has been spearheaded by the local Community Safety Partnership comprising a wide range of organisations including North Yorkshire Police, Craven District Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Its chairman Coun Janet Gott, one of the main campaigners for the scheme, said: "I would like to thank everyone who has worked on this project and every business and organisation who has supported this application."

Sadly she died on Wednesday just days after the news was received.

It is hoped the cameras will be well placed in the town centre and car parks to catch criminals involved in car thefts, shoplifting, drug offences and disturbance offences.

Efforts to introduce a closed circuit television system in Skipton began more than four years ago but met with little success.

It has always been on the council's agenda to win support for the scheme and it was third time lucky this year after the Government allocated £50 million to be spent on CCTV schemes around the country.

Coun Ken Luty, chairman of Craven District Council's community services committee, said: "This is great news. At last Skipton will have the system it deserves.

"This will be a major weapon in reducing crime and the fear of crime in Skipton and it is a major boost for the town centre."

And Alan Atkins, who retired as community safety officer last month, called on the community and local businesses to give financial support to ensure the scheme was a success.

"We have got to make it a worthwhile 24-hour system, and without local funding it will be more difficult to do," he added.

The bid was shortlisted last year along with 339 other applications from across the country. In the final selection procedure, the Home Office has approved only 184 bids for funding, and Skipton was one of the successful ones.

The scheme will include seven cameras situated at:

High Street junction with The Bailey,

High Street junction with Newmarket Street,

Town Hall car park,

Keighley Road junction with Caroline Square,

Keighley Road Junction with Castle Street,

Cavendish Street car park, and Coach Street car park.

The cameras will be monitored from Harrogate which already has the facilities to do so effectively.

Mr Cartledge said there was a state of the art, high tech monitoring system there and good communication links would be set up.

The staff at the monitoring station would be coming over to Skipton so the police could show them the trouble spots and they could gain local knowledge.

There will also be a "slave" monitor at Skipton Police Station which will have a two-fold use. Staff at Harrogate can contact the police and tell them to look on the monitor if they have spotted any trouble, or Skipton police can alert Harrogate staff as to where they expect a disturbance to take place.

Aside from the £128,000, the remaining capital costs will be met from a wide range of partners.

These include the community safety partnership £20,000, SBS £8,000, Skipton Town Council £5,000, British Waterways £2,000, Skipton Chamber of Trade £750, Skipton Market Traders Association £500, Bradford and Bingley Building Society £500, Craven Herald £250, and a host of other local businesses including Slaters, George Fisher, Wright Wine Company, Craven Pharmacy, Pottery and Pine, Thomas's, Fractions, David Goldie and CH Brown.

Between now and September the proposals will have to obtain planning consent and the work will go out to tender. It is hoped installation work will begin in July and be completed by September.

Meanwhile, efforts will be made to secure funding to meet the ongoing revenue costs.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.