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Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 12 2011, 09:50 AM

It seems that while 'we' are critical of NWN's approach to journalism, they have no interested in illustrating this story with a picture of the town concerned! Or do they feel the pictures of Newbury Christmas lights are too dull?

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=16982

Posted by: Richard Garvie Jun 12 2011, 10:28 AM

There is a lot of presumption that the BID will be approved. They still need to convince a lot of people before counting chickens.

Posted by: Cognosco Jun 12 2011, 10:58 AM

If the local few who run Newbury want it then that is what Newbury will get! Just look at everything else that has gone before in the past? No matter how many object if the few want it then Newbury gets it!

Posted by: GMR Jun 12 2011, 11:08 AM

Are you suggesting that Newbury's Christmas lights are not dull? In fact 'dull' would be an improvement. maybe NC should visit Hungerford and take a leaf out of their book in how to spruce up a town.

Posted by: Simon Kirby Jun 12 2011, 11:49 AM

The Christmas Lights will cost the tax-payer £48.3k this year, so while the NWN article is not exactly wrong when it puts the cost at "more than £30,000 each year", it's not the whole truth either. The article also says that the TCP make a £5k contribution, which they do, but it doesn't mention that the Town Council give the TCP £4k of that, so again it's not the whole truth. The £48.3k cost doesn't even include any element of the Council's £300k administration and running costs - that's about a third of the precept.

The issue here isn't whether the BID should be contributing to the Chirstmas Lights, the issue is whether the Town Council should even be involved. £12k of the cost is the Town Council's wage bill, and that's enough to employ an administrator for eight months of the year, but the whole thing is contracted out - maintenance, switch-on, everything - so where on earth does the Council spend this money?

I love Chrimbo, and for me jolly lights are an essential part of the fun, but the bottom line is that they're a promotional event for the town centre traders and there's no good reason for the tax-payer to pay for them. Well, not the whole cost anyways. They are jolly, and there is a good argument for some support from public funds, but they could be organised very much better and more efficiently by a voluntary group, just as many other towns do, with say £20k from the tax-payer and the rest from the town traders - and if the traders don't want to pay then sod them, and hang the lights up the Andover Road and Bath Road where everyone can see them, and not just the shoppers.

The great thing about the BID is that it levys a compulsory charge on the town centre businesses so no one has the option of enjoying the benefit of the Christmas Lights promotion for free, but more importantly the BID businesses will hold the BID to account for how it spends their hard-earned money and they simply wouldn't stand for the Lights being run as poorly and inefficiently as the Town Council run the show.

Posted by: Simon Kirby Jun 12 2011, 05:41 PM

Incidentally, it's the Christmas Market in the Raekoja Plats, Tallinn, Estonia.

Posted by: On the edge Jun 12 2011, 06:02 PM

Makes you think - if they can manage to do it and do it well in Tallinn, why can't we? Perhaps, even with the cuts, we really are too well off.

Posted by: Exhausted Jun 16 2011, 08:27 PM

That just goes to show that you have no idea what a BID is about and the democratic process that has to be gone through to get approval.

Posted by: Cognosco Jun 17 2011, 03:57 PM

Newbury? Democracy? Are you really serious?