Fundraiser aims to revamp town Christmas lights

A Devon town has set up a £5,000 fundraiser to renew its Christmas lights, which have been described as "no longer fit for purpose".

Buckfastleigh Town Council said it had taken over the project and that it would cost about £20,000 for the decorations and to install new infrastructure.

The council's clerk, Judith Hart, said historically the light display had been put up and taken down by a group of volunteers but they had said it was "too big of a commitment" this year.

Ms Hart described the takeover as a "big financial commitment” but Buckfastleigh did not want to be the only town left in the dark this Christmas.

She said the lead player in organising the Christmas lights was councillor and chairman Huw Cox, who died at the beginning of the year.

“The volunteers who had been doing the Christmas lights basically said they have had enough, and the lights were no longer fit for purpose, and it was too big of a commitment," said Ms Hart.

“The council, who were not involved other than giving some money, decided to take it over. It would look a bit dull not being lit up like other towns, but it is a big financial commitment."

The council has selected contractors to carry out the work, which totals about £20,000 for the first year, and has written to local businesses to help towards the cost.

Ms Hart said the town lottery awarded the council £2,000 towards the new decorations, which she described as an "unexpected but very welcome boost to the project".

She said: "To complement the amount of money we need to use ourselves, we decided to write to all the businesses and, one of our councillors, John Bailey, set up a Go Fund Me page.

“That includes all of the infrastructure, which will be put in by Devon County Council's lighting contractor. We need to make sure it is up to modern standards and compliant."

Talking about the £5,000 fundraiser, she said: "We are aware of the fact many people are struggling and don’t think Christmas lights are very important.

"We are not just here for the miserable things in life, we are also here to provide a bit of feel-good factor."

Ms Hart said the new Christmas lights would look "really pretty and tasteful" and it would really enhance the town centre.

She said there would be lights zig-zagging across Fore Street, a projector displaying a "Merry Christmas Buckfastleigh" sign and a lit-up Christmas tree.

She said the light switch-on was planned to happen at the end of November.

Ms Hart added the town's festive lights and fayre in December attracted about 2,000 visitors on the first night every year.

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