A VOLUNTEER group responsible for organising a Christmas lights switch-on in North Ayrshire has warned that council cuts could threaten the future of similar events across the county.

 

Financial support for organising committees was axed at the end of February as part of the North Ayrshire Council (NAC) budget for 2024-25.

The £38,000 cash for community lighting displays has been reduced to zero, with the only remaining funds to be allocated to one Christmas tree, with lighting, per town.

Choose Kilwinning says it fears will leave volunteer organisations out of pocket, in their case to the tune of £5,000.

The group, which has launched a petition urging the council to rethink the move, has also accused NAC of a "lack of clarity" on the situation.

They say that from the moment support for the installation and testing of lights was scrapped, they asked for more information on how this would affect them, and had to wait four months for a reply - which, when it came, took the form of a 'frequently asked questions' (FAQ) document.

A spokesperson said: "This [document] announced that groups would need to self-fund everything from installation to testing to licenses.

"Groups had asked repeatedly for more information since the decision was taken but were told to wait for the 'FAQ' sheet to be sent.

"The costs which groups now find themselves forced to take on with risk seeing no town in North Ayrshire having Christmas lights."

The group added that their budget is decided at the beginning of the year, making the impacts of this budget cut hard to account for.

Aaran McDonald, chair of Chose Kilwinning, said: "The timescales the council now expects groups to work to are unreasonable, and the lack of support is cruel.

“Four months after the decision was taken, months after local councillors asked for more detail, and months after we had to start planning for Christmas, the council dropped this bombshell on us.

"The costs they are asking us to cover only months out from the event would be hard for even the most energetic group to raise.

"The council must know that we start planning and fund-raising for Christmas almost immediately after we turn on the lights, and yet they have waited until now to smack us with these huge costs.

"We have spoken to local people, traders and visitors and they all agree this is just unacceptable which is why we are launching this petition calling on the leader of the council and the administration to stop this cut before it turns our town centres dark this Christmas.”

While North Ayrshire Council have said that despite the withdrawal of funding directly from the council, they have been looking to guide groups to alternative sources.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “Like Councils across Scotland and the rest of the UK, we face a challenging financial climate. At our budget-setting meeting on February 28, it was agreed to cease providing a budget for the installation of festive lights.

“In respect of support to groups, we have been in contact with community groups to explain that there may be a number of potential grant funding options open to them.

“Neighbourhood Services will continue to provide storage for the lights.

“Capacity-building support for the groups, including advice on potential funding, is available through our connected communities service and support through the events process will also continue as usual.

“Community groups can find out more about funding online.”