CCTV at war memorial

Last year, almost £10,000 of damage was caused on two separate occasions after vandals used decorative stones at the site to smash feature a number of feature lights.

To prevent the repeated use of the stones in such a manner, a proposal was made to remove larger boulders from the site and to fix in place the smaller stones.

A clear resin would be used in place of concrete to preserve the appearance of the site.

However, the local authority is now having to consider alternative options after an estimate of £25-30k was given for the original proposal.

Speaking at Monday night’s meeting of the Building Services Committee, Councillor John Stewart suggested that a longer-term solution was required. “I’m disgusted at the attacks on the war memorial,” he said. “Vandalism is vandalism regardless of how it’s carried out and these people will still find some way to cause damage.

“Has CCTV been looked at as an option? It is not expensive [and] we would not have to man it. The people who are doing this need to be named and shamed.”

Following a comment from Alderman May Beattie that it would be easy for vandals to hide their identity, it was proposed that the feasibility of providing CCTV at the war memorial be examined.