Christmas Lights - Town Council Consultation

[Whereaami]

From the Ware Town Counmcil Website:- http://www.waretowncouncil.gov.uk/Core/ ... fault.aspx

Love them or hate them, Ware’s Christmas lights are always a hot topic. For the past 2 years, Ware Town Council has been setting aside money to buy new lights. We now have enough to buy new lights ready for Christmas 2015.

We have used our existing lights for many years now and the main cost to the Town Council for these is the cost of putting them up and taking them down each year. We have been looking at two different designs for new lights, coloured festoon lights similar to our existing lights but without the shades or icicle lights. These are both suitable to attach to building frontages and as they are made of carbon fibre and are resistant to vandalism, could be left up all year round. This would be a saving to the Town Council of around £6,500 each year. However, we would need the support of businesses in the town to be able to do this. We would like to know what residents think of the Christmas lights.

[Wareite1969]

I was talking to family about this very topic (Wares lights) a few days ago. The multi colours is part of what I think of as traditional Ware Festivities. They've been the same for as long as I remember and any change from this would be a shame in my opinion and could lead to an expectation that every few years we should change to keep up with current trend. Nothing wrong with keeping some traditions but if change is needed I did see one town that had simple green & red lights up and they were very effective at making if feel Christmassy.

[Simes]

Follow the link to the Town Council website in the original post and download and return the simple consultation document.

For what it's worth, I'm with Wareite1969, and would rather keep what we have. I think they are very effective, and although many years old (retro!) I think this is part of their charm. They are visible along the entire length of the High Street, not just stuck up high on lampposts like so many newer styles. The plastic housings also add colour even in the daytime. If you asked me “Do I want new Christmas lights?” my answer would be no.

[Andy B]

I have seen a few houses who never bother to take their Christmas lights down at the end of Christmas and it always looks a bit tacky would the lights left up all year be detrimental to the look of the town?

[The Masked Woler]

What we have is nice and well suited to a historic market town - the proposals are tacky and out of place.

The survey is flawed in that there is no option of neither.

[Ian]

I'd be more than happy to put the lights up, replace any dead bulbs and take them down again for half the current cost of 6,500 quid.

[Alec]

Ware's lights, love them or hate them, are distinct from the lights you see anywhere else, which does make them special. (I'm a fan, BTW)

The magic comes from the bright colours, the fact they line the whole of the town, and the fact that they decorate even when off.

Icicle lights would be little different from what you see everywhere else. The multicolour festoon LED lights would still have little of the magic of the current ones.

And, although £6,500 is a lot of annual spend, it amounts to only around 35p per head (based on a population of 18,000), which feels like good value for money.

I'm struggling to find in favour of changing. Another option is to look to getting the current lights up for less. I'm definitely not convinced that having them up all year is going to be great. Energy efficiency would be great, but not sure if the payback would be quick enough.

[Mel]

I'm a LOLA

[RichardH]

I agree with Alec.

[shinybeans]

Ware's Christmas lights are lovely and add an old-fashioned charm to the street that other towns just don't have