Councillors to liaise with Badenoch & Strathspey communities over changes to Christmas lighting support

Badenoch and Strathspey Councillors are to liaise with Community Councils and local community groups wishing to provide festive Christmas lighting and decorations. It follows a new uniform policy that has come into place in order for the Highland Council to recover the costs associated with providing festive lighting and decoration assistance to communities across the Highlands. 

As part of the Highland Council’s budget savings £35,000 has been removed from the council’s general lighting maintenance budget. This followed a review presented to the Corporate Redesign Board of the Street Lighting Service which highlighted inconsistencies of the approach taken with some communities paying for provision while others did not. 

In a paper presented to the Badenoch and Strathspey Committee today (Monday 20 1 May) it was highlighted that during 2018/19 Badenoch and Strathspey communities received support from the council to the value of over £14,000 for festive lighting. 

The removal of this funding across all Highland communities means that in future the Council’s lighting service will not be able to undertake the erection and removal of Christmas lighting decorations to those communities which had previously received a free service. Communities are also being advised that the Council will also only be able to secure trees where communities can provide funding to cover the service costs. 

Convener and Local Highland Councillor Bill Lobban said: “Many communities already erect their own Christmas lights and those who haven't yet will be able to learn from the experience of others. Badenoch and Strathspey is a predominately tourist based economy and these lights help promote our towns and villages. Maybe this is something a tourist tax could pay for in the future."

ENDS

 

20 May 2019