Cambridgeshire village approves funding for permanent Christmas tree amid heatwave concerns
A new festive addition planned for Bar Hill
A Cambridgeshire village has been given funding for a permanent Christmas tree – though concerns were raised over its ability to survive a heatwave.
Bar Hill Community Association applied to plant the Christmas tree on land owned by the parish council ahead of the lights switch-on scheduled in November.
They told South Cambridgeshire District Council that the scheme would be a “long-term community asset” and help “enhance community cohesion”.
The report said it would cost a total of £2,807.20 with £1,000 funded by the parish council and asked the district council for a grant to cover the rest.
This was broken down into £1,129.20 for the lighting and electricity, £1,278 for the tree and installation, £150 for a banner and £250 for Christmas presents.
William Scantlebury, ward councillor for Bar Hill, wrote in support of the application and said it would be a “simple but meaningful addition, helping to bring residents together and add some festive spirit to the heart of Bar Hill”.
Cllr Dr Richard Williams, vice chair of South Cambs Council’s grants advisory committee, said it’s “a lovely thing to have” but the costs “jump out a bit”.
Cllr Eileen Wilson, of Cottenham, said: “The one thing that came to my mind when I was reading about this was the ongoing maintenance after the heatwaves that we had this summer.
“Have they got provisions in place to maintain the tree, to keep it watered if we have a heatwave, because seeing the example of the trees along the A14 that have perished, it does take quite a lot to keep trees going when they have these very big heatwaves.”
Emma Dyer, development officer with the communities team, said she’d check the tree management policy but assumes that would be covered.
She said: “I think it’s something that they want to keep as an asset so I should imagine they would take a lot of care and look after it.”
Cllr Farhan Hussain, of Shelford, said he grew up in Bar Hill and it is “quite an isolated village”.
He said: “I think it’s quite a good, community spirit thing to have and I know a lot of villages are isolated at the moment.
“Having that in place might actually help out a lot of low disposable income families. You know, things are quite tough at the moment. I think this is a nice way to do it, but I think it would be very good to just clarify the detailed cost of how they’ve come to that price.”
Councillors decided against delaying the application for more details about the pricing as it would mean it wouldn’t be decided until after Christmas.
Cllr Williams said: “I think it’s a lovely idea, I really wouldn’t like to delay it and then miss Christmas”.
The grant was approved unanimously.