There were 250 responses to our survey on the possibility of installing a CCTV system on the Biggar High Street. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond! There were a very wide range of views on this issue, and it was clear that there were strong opinions both for and against CCTV. A small majority (56%) felt that CCTV might reduce crime and antisocial behaviour, although some of these respondents indicated that even if it could do this they would not been keen on having it installed. However, just over half (54%) of open-ended comments were against installation of CCTV for a variety of reasons including
Following the survey, Biggar CC reviewed information on crime in the local area which has been provided in Police Reports between Jan 2019 and Dec 2020. Although Police Reports have not been available every month, those which have been provided suggest relatively low levels of crime on Biggar High St with 13 incidents in this two year period of which five were more serious crimes such as assault and housebreaking. A further 17 incidents may have occurred on the High St, although this was not actually specified in the report. Of these, most were petty crimes, with one more serious incident.
In addition, data from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation suggest that crime rates in Biggar are not above average.
In view of the divided public opinion; the concerns about the project and the lack of evidence that Biggar High St is a crime hot-spot the Community Council have decided not to take this project forward. We would like to thank Bob Brownlie and Peter Rae for the work which they carried out investigating this possibility.
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SLC are considering cuts which they may have to make in the coming year due to a reduced budget. They have come up with a long list of options which is available here.
Some of the savings are not controversial and won't affect services, but some could affect people in Biggar. As the SLC budget has not yet been finalised, there is still scope to let SLC know what you think. Although SLC have to have a balanced budget, the savings proposals would save more money than needed if they were all implemented, and if Council Tax was increased there would be less need to make cuts. Proposed savings which could affect Biggar
BCC would like to hear your views on these proposals and any ideas that you have for how they could make savings or increase income. |
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April 2024
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