Group hope tomake Rye glowand sparkle

A working party has been formed and has already met several times this year and produced an eye-catching leaflet urging people to join in.

The town is responding to criticism it received over last December’s Christmas celebrations which were branded lack-lustre by many visitors and residents.

A number of different ideas were put forward by groups and individuals to make the event bigger and better in 2015 but they were co-ordinated into one focussed group by Rye Mayor Cllr Bernardine Fiddimore.

She explained: “People were keen to respond to criticism, but it needed to be co-ordinated, otherwise we could have ended up with four Father Christmases.”

The Mayor called a meeting in January for interested parties to share enthusiasm for coming together as a community to create a spectacular event for Christmas 2015.

A small steering group of approximately 15 people has formed including representation from not only the Town Council and Chamber of Commerce but also traders and residents. The team encompasses a wide variety of skill sets and these will be invaluable in pulling the project together. People have been hard at work creating themes and branding and planning for fund raising events.

The Mayor said: “One of the most costly elements to any Christmas celebration is lighting.

“Rye Town Council has made a significant donation towards this and hopefully with some additional funding there will be a real WOW factor this Christmas. However, not content with buying all shiny new, the team have collated all lighting previously purchased (kindly stored by Bournes Ltd) and set to work repair and recycle.

“The plan is to use some of recycled lighting to brighten previously dark areas within the town.”