AS you walk around the town centre take a look at the now fading hanging basket displays lining Barclay, David and Allardice Street – they will be taken down shortly and many will not be hung again next year.
The loss of these floral displays is down to a review of Aberdeenshire Council’s Festive Lights Policy – which Councillors fear has turned into a mire of ‘unintended consequences’ and unwanted complications.
Emanating from a request for additional Christmas lights in Newtonhill, the policy review brings proposals including rationed electricity and five-yearly bills for surplus consumption. Only strengthened steel light columns may be used – but when lampposts need replaced, the Council’s default product is a cheaper and weaker aluminium lamppost. So if a community wants to hang displays, then they will have to pay the difference for the stronger poles.
And embedded in the policy is a manual dictating amongst other things the requirements and restrictions for those wishing to hang baskets, banners or bunting from a Council column. There is much talk of windage and safe heights.
Single hanging baskets are not permitted as they mean an uneven load. Brackets must be either of stainless steel or of galvanised metal.
Lampposts are not just for lights
At their meeting on Tuesday, members of the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed new policy.
Cllr George Carr said he was against charging volunteer groups for electricity. Cllr Wendy Agnew was concerned at the cost of the insurances required.
Councillor Mel Sullivan said: ”It’s all become a wee bit complicated, hasn’t it? It started off from a very easy question of can we just have control over putting a light up in between other lights – and now we have to allocate electricity over five years based on head of population.
”Basically this thing is going in a direction that I did not anticipate and I’m not massively supportive of.”
And Cllr Alan Turner said he was unhappy with ‘unintended consequences’ of the policy review. He said lampposts are not used only to brighten the darkest nights with festive colour – they are also used during the summer months for hanging baskets.
He said: ”What is wrong in my mind is to a great extent we are very focused on the incremental cost of electricity. Christmas lights are one thing, but that’s the time of the year – Christmas. Baskets also use the same type of structural columns and are equally important in a lot of cases to communities as well.
”So while we are answering this and working very much in terms of Christmas lights, it’s the same community, it’s the same lampposts and its the same thing – it’s making the town attractive, making areas attractive for residents and for people coming in.
”So yes it’s Christmas lights but the policy and what you bring in the manual catches all that as well, so we need to have the conversation.”
The Bellman can reveal Stonehaven’s Horizon Group are already dealing with the consequences of the policy review.
While they have permission to use lampposts, the restrictions on single brackets means their display on Barclay Street is all but lost. And on David Street and Allardice Street it will be diminished. The group also faces the cost of removing and replacing brackets that don’t fit the bill. Luckily the Market Square displays will be unaffected as they are hung on dedicated basket columns.
The Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee were asked to provide comment to the Infrastructure Services Committee on
the proposed change in approach for approval and management of Festive Lighting Installations in our towns and villages. It is that committee which will vote to adopt the proposed policy – or not.
Feature image: there is space for two baskets to hang either side of this lamppost. Many poles are too close to buildings for this to be possible, so single brackets at right angles have often been used – but will no longer be permitted.
The discussion on this item in the video below starts at about 14 mins.
Previously in The Bellman