Invercargill City Council has set a timeline to have CCTV installed in the city centre by mid next year.

Earlier this year, Council committed $1.1 million to investigate and install CCTV across the city and Bluff after requests from the community and Police.

Council Group Manager Infrastructure Erin Moogan said staff had undertaken engagement with the community and investigated the most appropriate programme to implement the new CCTV across the city and Bluff.

“While we originally hoped to have stage one of the CCTV installation under way in December, we are now committed to commencing work in April 2024 with a go-live date of June 2024.”

Stage one of the project would include 65 cameras across sites in the Invercargill CBD.

CCTV in South City and Bluff would be considered in stage two, and it was likely further budget would need to be allocated to complete this stage of work, Moogan said.

“We know the community is keen to see this project get under way and while there is a delay, this extra time will allow us to ensure it is done correctly.”

Mayor Nobby Clark said the extended timeframe would likely be disappointing for the community given it was expected to be ready by December.

“It’s unfortunate that we cannot meet the initial timeframe and budget that was discussed, but we will continue to keep this project as a focus,” he said.

“Everyone at Council is aware of how important having CCTV across the city is to the community and we know it is necessary to assist in keeping our community safe,” he said.

A report will be presented at the Finance and Projects Committee meeting on Tuesday 17 October that will outline the next steps of this project.

Council is currently consulting on a CCTV policy as part of the Moving forward with City Block and City Centre Streets consultation and people can have their say at letstalk.icc.govt.nz.