SENIOR politicians are set to be asked to back measures which will see CCTV cameras in Flintshire monitored over the border in Wrexham.

The potential move was revealed last month as Flintshire Council’s control room is currently located in part of County Hall in Mold which has been earmarked for demolition.

The two local authorities have been working together to explore whether the service could be provided from Wrexham’s control room based on the town’s industrial estate.

It is estimated that the joint CCTV service managed by Wrexham would see costs reduce for Flintshire from almost £185,000 down to  £141,000.

Council officers warned there was a risk the county could be left with no CCTV service if the merger does not progress.

In a report which will be considered by members of Flintshire’s Labour administration next week, Neal Cockerton, chief officer for housing and assets, said: “Issues surrounding CCTV can be emotive, with members of the public generally comforted by the camera installations and knowing that there is someone ‘looking out for them’ as they go about their daily business in our towns.

“However, austerity has forced local authorities to seriously consider the role of CCTV.

“Relocation of the service to Wrexham has continued to be explored for some time.

“The option to merge services will provide the necessary resilience for both partners and assist both partners to manage costs more effectively.”

There are currently 120 cameras in Flintshire, which the council says would easily be able to accommodated in Wrexham’s control room, which has space for an extra screen wall.

Mr Cockerton said other locations, including the authority’s recently refurbished offices in Ewloe, had been considered, but would not offer the same level of savings.

Under the new arrangement, Flintshire would remain responsible for the costs of fibre connections, along with the maintenance and replacement of its cameras.

Mr Cockerton also said it was exploring the widespread use of portable cameras to areas where anti-social behaviour has been identified.

He added: “The provision of a public realm CCTV services are not a statutory service, however, as has been noted above there is substantial and positive community benefit and reassurance derived from having such systems in place.

“Many organisations have been adopting innovative ways of delivering the service and as noted above the council has been actively discussing with Wrexham a shared service solution.

“Developments with CCTV have seen increased use of deployable cameras to areas or hot spots of high crime and anti-social behaviour.

“These have been highly effective when used alongside the existing fixed camera network and increased use of these cameras is being further considered.”

The report will be considered by cabinet members on Tuesday, June 18.