Several Angus councillors have insisted businesses in Arbroath will have to play their part if they want to see any major improvements to the town’s festive lighting.
It follows special meetings of the council’s infrastructure and corporate services committees, at which councillors decided up to £50,000 from the town’s common good fund should be used towards upgrading the Christmas lights for 2011.
However, Arbroath East and Lunan representative Sheena Welsh has expressed concerns about using so much of the fund on a single project. She said the improvements should be undertaken as a “partnership” between the council and traders.
She said, “Everybody likes to see nice Christmas lights, but the traders are the people who benefit from the displays most. It’s quite right that they should have to contribute to the costs of the lighting-they do so in places which don’t have a common good fund.
“In times like these, we’ve got to be very careful with the common good fund. Once money is spent, it’s not easy to get it back. We don’t know what we’re going to have to spend money on in the next few years it might be something a lot more vital than Christmas lights. I’m not averse to some of the money being spent in this way I just think businesses should play their part too.”
Her comments echoed the sentiments of SNP colleague Alex King, who represents the Arbroath West and Letham ward on the council.
he suggested arranging a series of meetings with community groups, including traders, aimed at devising the most cost-effective way to finance the improvements.
He too believed businesses should contribute to the upgrade, as he felt they would benefit primarily from any upsurge in festive trade as a consequence of a more attractive town centre.
He said, “I think we need to start meetings in August so we can come to some sort of decision before the budget setti ng meeting. Im not saying we should be rushing into anything, but we would like to have some sort of conclusion around December or January. We should also be looking at purchasing the lights at the most advantageous time, such as the start of the year, so the cost is minimised.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user George Deputee.