SHABBY-looking town centre Christmas lights have cost the taxpayer almost £27,000.
Aylesbury Vale District Council has forked out £26,744 on the lights for Aylesbury town centre which have been criticised by many concerned residents who have written to The Bucks Herald calling them ‘disappointing’ and ‘shabby’.
Neal Davies, 24, of Kynaston Avenyue, Aylesbury, is just one of many to have slammed the decorations which he says he is ashamed to take his nieces to see.
“It seems the council has let it slide, there is not one feature of the lights that is actually working properly,” he said.
“It is now becoming a running joke amongst my friends and I as to just how shambolic the lights are and the glaring errors in how they’ve been put up.
“I want to see Christmas brought back for Aylesbury instead of neglecting what is one of the town’s only celebrations of a beautiful holiday tradition.”
UKIP member at the district council, Chris Adams, has also condemned the authority’s spending on the faulty decorations and has pledged to debate the issue at a council meeting this evening (Wednesday).
“The lights in the town centre are a disgrace,” he said.
“They seem to be a mere afterthought and look as though they have been stuck up year on year, with little thought given to how they look.
“What is the district council doing? How can we be getting so little for our money? We’ve got hardly anything to show for it.
“With the way the times are right now we owe it to our shopkeepers to attract people into town at this time of year. It’s such a waste of money.”
Cabinet member for civic amenities at the council, Brian Roberts, said: “We are obviously very disappointed that some of the Christmas lights have not been working properly.
“We have been informed by our contractor that the majority of the faulty lights have now been repaired and we expect the remaining few to be repaired shortly.
“Our Christmas lights display shows Aylesbury town centre is open for business.
“The lights and other decorations cheer people up during a time when the evenings are really dark and they’re a treat for all ages.
“They also attract people into the town, which encourages a greater spend in our shops, restaurants and licensed premises.”