NEW Christmas lights are set to cost Rhyl Town Council more than £30,000 this year.

A total of £31,573 has been agreed to be spent on lights for the town, provided by Blachere Illuminations, with an additional £5,000 set aside to cover any unforeseen costs that arise.

At a town council meeting, clerk Gareth Nickels said that the old lights are now well beyond their lifespan, and it would cost more in the long-term to persist with them than to buy or lease a new scheme.

It was at this meeting that the decision was agreed to spend the aforementioned amounts on buying a new set of Christmas lights for Rhyl.

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Mr Nickels said: “For a number of years, the town council has provided an illuminations scheme in the Rhyl Town Centre for the benefit of residents and to support local businesses.

“These include 56 illuminations on street columns of a standardised type, which enable them to be relocated as and when necessary between columns to ensure maximum impact coverage. 

“It was originally intended that, as and when these individual column illuminations failed and became uneconomical to repair, they would be replaced with a similar illumination, thus preserving the integrity of the scheme.

“However, the type of illumination used is no longer being manufactured, and the council has found itself in a position where the cost of repairing individual illuminations is often more than its value.”

Mr Nickels added that an increasing number of the old lights were having to be repaired on an annual basis.

Following the 2021 winter storms, he said, major damage was caused to the lights, resulting in a much-reduced scheme last year, as 10 of them were beyond repair.

The cost of the repairs for the lights depends on the level of work required for each, but can be as much as £500 to £700 per illumination. 

He said: “The council considered that the increasing costs of the repairs had to be addressed, and the only option was a replacement scheme to ensure that Rhyl had the level and quality of scheme it deserves. 

“Following a tendering exercise, Blachere Illuminations were successful, and a new scheme for the town has now been acquired and will be installed over the upcoming festive season. 

“A bonus is that the new illuminations are also far more energy-efficient than their older counterparts, which will also assist in the council’s long-term savings.”

A date for Rhyl’s Christmas lights switch-on event for 2023 has yet to be confirmed, but last year took place at the end of November.

In 2021, the switch-on was cancelled due to storm damage.