A TOTAL of 25 CCTV cameras close to Colchester town centre will be rendered redundant if plans to turn off the street lights go ahead.

Seven out of ten street lights will be turned off across the borough between midnight and 5am from Monday*nov 18*.

Colchester Council has sent Essex County Council a list of eight areas where it says the lights should stay on.

Parts of the Priory Street, East Hill, Abbeygate Street, Stockwell Street, St John’s Wynd, Sheergate Steps, St Peter’s Street and the Dutch Quarter need to be lit all night so the council’s CCTV cameras can film.

Tim Young, councillor responsible for community safety, said: “Our CCTV would be rendered redundant unless there is light for the cameras to tune in on.

“The cameras won’t pick up pictures if they are in complete darkness.”

Mr Young said an ongoing £96,000 upgrade to the town centre CCTV will be pointless unless the lights stay on.

He said: “In the county council’s original proposals, it said areas covered by CCTV would be exempt and yet in these streets.”

Essex County Council was sent 733 streets or areas that councillors or parish and town councils had asked them to reconsider.

County Hall, which hopes to save £1million-a-year across the county and £132,00-a-year in Colchester by turning off street lights, has agreed to review the streets covered by CCTV.

It could not confirm whether they would be turned off on Monday.