Granville Taylor, Services Manager said “There are a lot of quality Christmas Light suppliers, but I think that the Council has made the right choice in selecting Millennium Quest. They have already shown their flexibility in our negotiations to date and the team are looking forward to a very positive partnership over the coming years”.

Cllr Ian Grose, Leader of the Council agreed and added “There was a great danger of Newbury going “dark” for Christmas 2007. The existing Christmas lights are beyond the end of their expected life and it took a lot of investment and hard work to continue the display for 2006. Offers of additional sponsorship have not been forthcoming, but the Town Council has now committed £37,000 per annum over the next 5 years to ensure that Newbury sparkles at Christmas. We really appreciate the £5,000 per annum which the Town Centre Management Steering Group already contributes, but we hope that the town’s businesses, and the retail and evening economy community in particular, can find a way of contributing additional sponsorship in future years to make the display even better”.

Eric Stokes, Managing Director of Millennium Quest said “I am very pleased with the scheme that we have proposed for the first year. It consists of predominately white LEDs with smatterings of seasonal red and green, which appears to be the current trend. The service we provide is flexible, and we can add and make changes as required over the lifetime of the contract. I am extremely pleased to be able to add Newbury to our portfolio of towns that we supply our services to. Newbury has a real buzz about it and a clear vision for the future. We hope to be working with the Town Council for many years beyond the initial 5 year agreement.”

LED lights have been chosen because although they are more expensive than traditional filament lights, they are brighter, more compact, last longer and most importantly consume less power.

The new Christmas Lights are planned to be installed in time for a grand switch-on on the evening of Friday 30 November 2007.

The annual opportunity to sponsor the Christmas Tree still exists. Any interested parties should contact Granville Taylor at the Town Council in the first instance for more details.