HASLEMERE Town Council has agreed to spend just under £100,000 on the town’s Christmas lights over the next four years.

It came during the full council meeting last Thursday (July 23), whereby the proposal was approved by councillors.

The contract for the lights is a four year tenure, with the costs totalling £23,000 per year.

It covers the installation and removal of lights on Haslemere High Street, Wey Hill and Hindhead, as well as decorations for the front of Town Hall and a 20ft Christmas tree on Memorial Green.

The council confirmed that the budget for the lights was agreed before the Covid-19 pandemic, adding: “We know from feedback that it makes an enormous difference to residents’ enjoyment of the Christmas season and their willingness to shop in Haslemere and to spend money in this and the other areas.

“Enhancement of the shopping environment is even more important this year than in the past.

“The council must do all it can to promote the economic recovery of our businesses, whilst keeping very much in mind the needs of those whom this pandemic has treated so cruelly.”

It comes as the town council announced its partnership with Haslemere’s Chamber of Trade and Commerce to form the #HeartOfHaslemere campaign, in a bid to get the town ‘back to business’ in the wake of the pandemic.

Speaking at the full council meeting – held this time over Zoom – town major John Robini commented on how it was a “strange time to be a mayor”, adding that he would “be attending more events then what I have been in the last four weeks”.

He confirmed that the council and chamber would be hosting a celebratory event on Saturday, August 15 as part of the campaign, to invite residents back into the town centre and encourage shoppers in town to visit.

The chamber has also sponsored recyclable, branded paper cups to be used by the public and colourful bunting to decorate the commercial areas.

Speaking at the meeting, town clerk Lisa O’Sullivan told of how the businesses had been “delighted” with the offer, with one owner who “could not believe what was being offered”.

The town council and the chamber are inviting retailers within the town and its surrounding villages to participate in “creating a fun day which will bring shoppers into local shops and spread the message that “Haslemere is ‘Back in Business’”.

The council plans to obtain a street trading license for the town centre, Wey Hill and Beacon Hill, with traders invited to put a stall outside their premises on the day.