Bah, humbug! Highland Council scraps free installation of Christmas lights and trees to save £35,000; Ross and Cromarty councillors to liaise with communities wishing to provide displays
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FREE erection of festive lights by Highland Council is to be scrapped as it seeks to cut £35,000 from its lighting budget.
Communities will also need to provide funds for communal Christmas trees.
Following the move, the local authority says its Ross and Cromarty councillors will liaise with community councils and groups wishing to provide festive Christmas lighting and decorations.
The council's new policy, adopted this week, will see it seek to recover the costs associated with providing festive lighting and decoration assistance to communities.
It comes after a review "highlighted inconsistencies" between communities – some of which already pay while others do not.
In a paper presented to the Ross and Cromarty Committee today it was stressed that "as a result of positive discussions with communities over several years the majority of communities in Ross-shire already install their own lighting".
The report added that in some instances the council’s lighting electricians help out with festive displays in their own time, with free use of the council's plant equipment. In cases where this happens the council says it will continue to provide the use of these vehicles at no cost.
“Those communities who have historically received a free service will need to find alternative ways to provide their Christmas lighting," said Robin Pope, policy and programme manager with community services. "This will include the cost of electrical connection, disconnection and safety checks and the erection and taking down of decorations.
"This uniform approach means that the resources of the council’s lighting services will be able to be targeted at the maintenance of existing lighting stock and the roll-out of the delivery of the LED lighting programme which provides energy savings to the council."
