£136,800 speed cameras bill feared

Repairing vandalised speed cameras and making dummy sites look like they are in use will cost West Midlands taxpayers up to £136,800 a year, it was revealed today.

Transport chiefs have already scrapped £750,000 of funding for the 304 speed camera sites around the region but police pay £1m to keep them running at blackspots.

It today emerged that removing disused cameras would cost £1,200 a time while just keeping signs, markings and housings looking like they are in use will cost £200 each.

The cost of vandalism could send the fee soaring even higher.

A report to councillors revealed that 19 cameras were vandalised last year costing between £2,500 and £4,000 each to repair.

There is no provision in the police budget for repairing or replacing vandalised cameras meaning councils will have to pay for the work.

In a report Peter Francis, programme manager for the West Midlands Road Safety Partnership states: "Consideration needs to be given to the deterrent effect of fixed sites that are no longer deployed to but where the housing is in situ.

"To be effective sites may have to be maintained to at least a level where they appear capable of deployment.

"This cost would not be found from the revised deployment proposals. It is estimated that the average cost of maintenance is around £200 per year per site to ensure signage is correct, check markings are in order and foliage is cleared.

"The proposed funding arrangements do not cover the cost of repair or replacement of any safety camera housings that are damaged, for example by arson.

"The cost of repair or replacement will vary according to the extent of the damage.

"For example if the damage is relatively minor and can be repaired the cost can be between £2,500 and £4,000.

"However,if replacement of a housing or radar unit is required the cost could rise to nearly £6,000. In 2010 there were 19 housings damaged and to date this year there have been three housings damaged. These sites cannot be used until repaired, and funding is currently not available through the revised deployment arrangements."

Of the 304 cameras across the region, 86 are dummies. Only three cameras in Wolverhampton and 37 regionally are frequently used, with operation limited to 15 days a month.

Wolverhampton's transport chief Councillor Peter Bilson said: "Our resources are under extra pressure.

"I would expect mutual investment in ongoing maintenance to happen as a matter of course. We need to look at safety requirements and see what technologies are available to replace the old wet film cameras."