IT may be summer but Holsworthy Town Council is already looking towards the festive period, with plans being put in place for the town’s annual events, writes Zoe Uglow.

Town Clerk Vanessa Saunders said: “It gets earlier and earlier every year!”

She began discussions by setting out the expected expenditure for the events the council hold each year and informed them of the budget set aside to cover costs.

A total of £6,500 has been earmarked for events throughout 2017.

Over the festive period Ms Saunders suggested the council set a budget of £5,500 to include expenditure for events such as the ‘Lights Switch On’, the town’s Christmas tree project and late night shopping among others.

Ms Saunders explained that there would be about £4,000 left after the cost of the staging and its equipment was hired.

This would leave £1,500 of the original events budget for other events throughout the year.

Cllr Michael Stanton raised his concerns with the amount of budget being set aside for the festive period alone, he said: “Is that what it cost last year? Couldn’t we try to reduce the £4,000?”

Ms Saunders explained that the council didn’t have to spend the full £4,000, adding: “I suggested that figure as an indication to what could be available for the council to spend but no we don’t have to spend it all!”

Deputy mayor Colin Punter enquired about the Christmas tree project, which was set up last year to help make Holsworthy a more festive place, and asked ‘will it be carrying on this year’.

Cllr Hutchings said that the council guaranteed the Christmas tree project for two years but were hoping

Cllr Heaven asked: “What about those shops and businesses that didn’t get involved last year?”

Cllr Hutchings suggested they could offer the trees to businesses again this year, adding that there were a number of new businesses in the town that wouldn’t previously have been given the opportunity.

Ms Saunders said that the council needed some volunteers to form an informal committee to ‘talk through the details’ of the festive events.

It was agreed that Cllr Hutchings, Cllr Jo Heaven, Cllr Punter and assistant to the town clerk Kerry Punter would form the new sub-committee.

Cllr Hutchings added: “If we initially say November 26 for the lights installation then on the following Sunday have the switch on.

“We will aim for around December 1, for now, but we will need to check that the other towns — Bude, Launceston etc — aren’t holding events that night as last year we clashed and I think it affected turnout.”