Improvements continue as Alnwick town centre gets set for Christmas
Alnwick town centre is getting set for the festive period as plans are finalised for the traditional Christmas lights switch-on later this month.
It comes as major improvements continue to be made to the town on the Cobbles and Clayport Street – and the town remains very much open for business.
Alnwick Christmas Lights Switch-On is a community celebration featuring local entertainment, carol singing, independent markets and shops keeping late opening hours, and the official lights switch-on with spectacular lights around the town centre.
This year the switch on is at 7pm on Friday 20th November on Bondgate Within featuring children’s rides, music & carol singers. A 25ft tree will be located nearby on Market Place kindly donated by Northumberland Estates, accompanied by a Festive Market.
The event has been tweaked to this year’s format across both parts of town due to works being planned on the Market Place but still features all the usual favourites and will be a fantastic event for all to enjoy.
The lights are organised by local volunteers with the support of Alnwick Town Council and donations from local businesses and the wider community. The famous display involves over 200 separate display items and miles of shop lights with thousands of bulbs.
Town centre improvements are progressing well, the scheme to enhance the historic Cobbles is well underway as well as additional improvements to Clayport Street getting started this week.
Throughout all works the town centre is open for business, along with markets and events, with access maintained to all premises. A wide range of parking continues to be available throughout the works.
The works will be paused over the peak of the Christmas shopping period from 7th December – 4th January.
Other major projects are set to begin in the New Year, with planned improvements to the new Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery at Northumberland Hall, and a newly refurbished bus station being finalised.
Northumberland County Councillor Richard Wearmouth, Cabinet Member for Supporting Business and Opportunities and Chair of Alnwick Town Forum said: “It’s fantastic to see the famous Christmas Lights event is set to happen this year as we continue to improve the town.”We are pleased to have helped the volunteers with logistical support and a few tweaks to allow for the ongoing improvements. Improvement works are progressing well with disruption kept to an absolute minimum and access maintained to all local businesses.”
Northumberland County Councillors for Alnwick Cllrs Gordon Castle and Martin Swinbank said: “The Christmas lights are an iconic feature so it’s great we have all been able to support the organisations and volunteers planning this year’s event. It looked like we’d need to move the tree to Bondgate Within this year with works to Northumberland Hall expected to have begun by now. This would have meant the tree location would have been too close for comfort. Now we know works will be beginning after Christmas so the tree can be in Market Place as normal. The Lights switch on will be on Bondgate Within as all preparations have been made. This will be another fantastic Christmas celebration for all and we would like to thank everyone for their efforts in planning this much-loved event.”
Cllr Geoff Watson, Mayor of Alnwick Town Council said: “The Christmas lights are a fantastic community celebration and we are pleased to back it again for all to enjoy.”
Kevin Nicholson, Chair of Alnwick Christmas Lights Committee, said: “We always receive tremendous support from all. Thank you to our volunteers and our sponsors for their help in putting on this year’s event.”
Jean Humphrys, Chair of Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery said: “We are getting ready to begin construction on our new base at Northumberland Hall in the New Year and the existing museum continues to be open for all to enjoy in the meantime on Bailiffgate. We will be liaising with all our partners and businesses nearby in advance of the works beginning.”
The Cobbles improvements are funded by Northumberland County Council and the Clayport Street Improvements are funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (NEMSA).
Further information:
Website: www.northumberland.gov.uk/AlnwickTCI
Enquiries to: AlnwickTCI@northumberland.gov.uk
Alnwick town centre Improvements are being delivered by Northumberland County Council and Bailiffgate Museum. Alnwick Town Centre Improvements are funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, North East Mayoral Strategic Authority and Northumberland County Council.
