Midsomer Norton Town Council will not be renewing the Street Marshals contract, as voted on Monday (6th February), despite members of the public attending the meeting in favour of the marshals.

Members of the public attended a Meeting of the Town Council to have their say on the motion to stop funding for Street Marshals. Matthew from Vault Security spoke during Public Question Time, saying: "It is highly recommended not to scrap Street Marshalling. People feel safer with us around."

The owner of Crossways Tavern was also in attendance and said: "We don't want to lose them [Street Marshals], we need that help. It is a comfort to Midsomer Norton. If it goes, everything will start slipping."

Midsomer Norton Town Council introduced Street Marshals in January 2012 with the previous contract going to RS Security in 2015, in recent times the contract has been held by Midas, and was meant to run for three years until June 2025.

The motion to stop funding the Street Marshals turned into quite a debate among the Councillors as Councillor Michael Evans said: “It’s been twelve years since setting up Midsomer Norton Town Council, having Marshals was one of the ideas for improving community life.

“Marshals are not front-loaded, they are an ongoing and increasing cost.

“I didn't envision Marshals being a permanent implementation.”

An opportunity to discuss the future of the Street Marshals arose following the cease of contract by the current security, Midas.

Councillor Gordon Mackay said there was a 40% increase in the budget for Street Marshals but, “Rather than cutting the budget totally, I think the budget could be heavily reduced and we look at different ways the Council could make residents feel safe”.

Councillor Mackay was in favour of implementing CCTV, “Vandalism is not as prevalent in areas which are covered by CCTV.

“Parts of town feel dangerous, they need cleaning up and more lighting.

“£28,000 just on Marshals is too much, look at halving that and putting in other measures to support.”

Councillor Brian Lawrence was for cutting the budget: “I'm not sure they perform a role that helps the general public, they start late at night and people going out for meals and such are usually home by then”.

Although, Councillor Richard Robertson disagreed, “Marshals have done a very good job in minimising risk of crime towards innocent bystanders.

“The budget has leapt up £10,000 and I'm not sure why, but I think we should keep a sturdy budget for this.”

Councillor Mackay, trying to think of alternatives rather than cutting the budget completely, said: “Maybe we could vary Marshal presence through different times. The town is very quiet some times of the year. Perhaps we could look at the differing levels of need.”

Midsomer Norton Mayor, Lynda Robertson, brought the discussion to an end with two proposals:

1. Cutting the Marshals completely

2. Keep a budget for security and decide on what that is at a later date

The Councillors voted unanimously, seven votes for, one against, to no longer renew the contract of the marshals, which has served Midsomer Norton since 2012, but decide at the upcoming Budget Meeting on future security provision for the town.

Referring to the cuts, Independent Councillor Shaun Hughes, who attended the meeting, told The Journal: "Whether it’s an elderly couple out to enjoy a meal or a group of younger residents enjoying a night out the street marshals provide a reassuring level of safety and security and a crucial interface between the public, the Police and CCTV officers. They have often intervened to protect and prevent anti-social behaviour and acts of aggression, provide critical intelligence for the Police to allocate resource and ultimately improve the Towns evening economy. Last night the Town Council voted to stop the street marshals, without any consultation with the Police or local venues.

"Our venues play their part in providing a safe environment through Door staff, CCTV and Pubwatch, but it’s the responsibility of the Police and Town Council to keep residents safe in the streets.

"Sadly this Town Council is completely out of touch with the realities our town is facing in terms of, high levels of drugs, anti-social behaviour and lack of any provision for younger teenagers. The voice of reason has been the Town Clerks, but they have resigned due to the behaviour of some Councillors.

"Our High Street economy is on a knife edge. We’ve seen excellent businesses closing, but there are also positive signs with new restaurants opening and an increasing range of options for evening entertainment and a more diverse range of ages and backgrounds. We need to be talking our High Street up, but the Town Council risk compromising any progress.

"I will continue to push for the reinstatement of the scheme. However, this is unlikely before the election for Town Councillors in May. After those elections I hope there will be a new set of Town Councillors, with a better understanding of how to protect and improve an evening economy and keep residents safe.

"It’s such a shame that this Council have spent more time debating the purchase of a concrete table tennis table than last night’s Street Marshal debate!"

What do you think, do we need Street Marshals in Midsomer Norton?