Statement on Christmas lights in Medway this year.
Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Vince Maple, said: “Unfortunately due to the challenging financial situation the council is in, we have had to make the sad and difficult decision to not have Christmas lights across Medway this year. This means there will sadly be no switch-on events held in the town centres this year.
“I know how disappointing this will be for many families, residents and businesses, including myself who enjoyed attending the event with my family, but the reality of the situation is that we unfortunately have no choice but to make these tough decisions.
“Medway Council continues to be one of the lowest funded unitary authorities in the country per head of population with our revenue support grant cut by 91% since 2010. Consequently, our budget forecasting has identified a potential overspend of £17million for this financial year. This decision alone will save the council £75,000 and, whilst I appreciate there is still a long way to go to reduce the budget gap, I will continue to lobby central government to ensure Medway receives a fair amount of funding.
“However, until then, we are left with no choice but to make these incredibly difficult decisions as a Cabinet, and with our council colleagues and partners, to reduce the potential overspend and to ensure we can continue to provide essential services that we are required to provide by law, such as social care, waste collections and housing. We are continuing to explore savings options whilst providing an excellent service and support system for our vulnerable residents.
“There is still much for all our residents to enjoy in the run up to Christmas this year. I am pleased local ward councillors are still able to fund a Christmas tree in each town, and that the character meet and greets will still be taking place in Gillingham, Strood and Rainham libraries for Medway’s young people, as well as a Christmas parade in Chatham on Saturday, 18 November. There will also be three weekends of Rochester’s Christmas Market, a new magical children’s Christmas village in Rochester Castle Grounds, the Dickensian Christmas Festival, Victorian traditions at Eastgate House, naughty elves on shelves at The Guildhall Museum and the annual pantomime at The Central Theatre in Chatham.
“Medway has thousands of local businesses, including a wonderful range of bespoke shops, so please do shop local where you’re able to in the run-up to Christmas. Medway also has fantastic charity shops giving residents the opportunity to bag a bargain and give to worthy causes. It’s Small Business Saturday coming up on 2 December and a great excuse to shop in Medway.
“We will continue to work closely with our town centre businesses to explore further ways to support them this Christmas. We are also exploring public transport support in December to make it easier to get to our town centres and high streets.”
To find out more about Christmas in Medway, visit: VisitMedway.org/Christmas2023