CCTV coverage in Billericay is in a "shambolic" state, with the system "down for the majority of the time between June and December last year," it has been claimed.
Former Billericay town councillor Terence Gandy said full CCTV coverage in the town was unavailable for more than six months.
The news follows police reports of poor coverage and calls for improvements to be made to the system in April last year – as previously reported in the Gazette.
Mr Gandy says he has contacted Basildon Borough Council, which monitors and maintains cameras in the town, on several occasions regarding the issue.
He said: "The coverage of CCTV in the area seems to be something shrouded in secrecy and the council are unable to give me detailed information about the monitoring service they provide.
"Many of the businesses in the town are unaware of the lack of CCTV coverage they receive.
"For six months the service was out of order and it seems to be something the council do not want to address.
"I believe Billericay Town Council should be involved in the process rather than it being solely in the control of Basildon Council."
Mr Gandy continued: "I have also spoken to the police who have said it would be beneficial for them to have instant access to recordings, rather than having to request them to be transferred from Basildon as they currently must do."
Trevor Draper, the owner of Billericay Cookshop in High Street, said: "Any downtime on the coverage of CCTV in Billericay is unwelcome, especially if something bad should occur and the police need images for prosecution.
"It is a shame that we are spending all this money on CCTV if it is not working as it should.
"The machinery used is getting beyond its sell-by date and it's beyond its useful life, which is intended to be five or six years.
"As a shopkeeper any downtime is hard to stomach. There are issues with maintenance and this needs to be a priority."
Mr Draper added: "If the council is unaware, then we need to ensure that there is one person in charge of this to ensure the system is repaired as quickly as possible. If there is no process to monitor the availability and credibility that needs to be put in place."
Billericay town councillor Jules Bottazzi said: "I think it's very disappointing if they were left for so long – the cameras are here for a reason."
A Basildon Borough Council spokesman said: "CCTV continues to play a vital role in helping to gather evidence, deter crime and help our residents feel safe.
"Despite funding for the monitoring of CCTV being withdrawn last year and local authorities having no duty to maintain CCTV systems, Basildon council has continued to monitor and record footage whilst maintaining the system to the highest standards.
"Unfortunately, we have had two recent issues with our CCTV system that have been out of our control, but we have dealt with them as soon as possible to ensure that the system was restored quickly."
The spokesman added it was unclear if the system was down or just two individual cameras.
