At the recent Community Development Committee meeting Haydon Wick Parish Council gave serious consideration to festive lighting in and around the Council offices this year. Councillors discussed balancing rising energy costs with managing the expectations of residents to provide them with some welcomed festive cheer in the parish.  The decision was taken to light the Council offices to keep the Christmas cheer for staff and residents and present a welcoming and festive space.
During the meeting it was acknowledged that the Parish Council is already using low energy LED bulbs but made the decision to further cut energy usage by reducing the timeframe for the lights to be displayed from 36 days in 2021 to 24 days this year – the lights will be switched on from Monday 15th December 2022 to Wednesday 4th January 2022. The Council will also reduce the hours that the lights are on from, 4pm – 8pm daily (4 hours) instead of 3pm – 10pm daily (7 hours) previously. The lights will be on when school children walk home and during rush hour traffic with residents returning to their homes in the evenings.
Additionally, the Council is also running a Warm Spaces scheme this year as part of its Reducing Loneliness & Isolation Programme. Twice a week for two hours the Parish Council is opening its meeting room to offer residents a warm and welcoming space to enjoy hot refreshments in a festive setting.
To help with funding the decorations and Warm Spaces initiative, the Council was delighted to receive several donations from local businesses, totalling ÂŁ700.00. The Council would like to thank Datalibrium Ltd, and Mark Draycott, of Draycott Sports Ltd for their generous donations. These donations will help to reduce the cost to residents and ensure it offers best value as a Parish Council.
Councillor Rebecca Ross, Chairman of the Community Development Committee had this to say:
“The Council was acutely aware of the rising cost of living and energy this year. We didn’t want to cancel Christmas in Haydon Wick and wanted our offices to have its usual welcoming festive glow and community tree for residents to enjoy as they pass by. But we were mindful of the perception of having festive lights on versus the need to cut back on non-essential spending amid this current financial climate. We hope we have arrived at a good compromise by reducing the time we have our lights on and receiving generous sponsorship to help fund them.”