It seems unlikely there will be any official Christmas lights in Rye this year. There are currently no plans to put up the usual decorations which have hung from shops and homes in the town centre for almost a decade each winter.
The news follows the cancellation of the Christmas Festival, which was announced three weeks ago.
Both have fallen victim to a lack of volunteers, concerns about safety, issues with insurance, and little or no funding says Sophie Thorpe who has led the festival since 2022. "It's been hurdle after hurdle after hurdle. The lights look incredible when they are up but it's a logistical nightmare making them happen."
The charity responsible for the festival is being wound up because several of the trustees have moved away, which means there is currently no organisation to apply for insurance for the lights and no money to pay for it. Sophie Thorpe says a new solution that's properly funded is urgently needed. "That the whole issue has been brought to a head now by the changes at the charity shows just how unsustainable it has become."
"It is no-one's responsibility to put up the Christmas lighting," says Jen Sinclair, one of the locals who started the Christmas Festival in 2015 and an organiser for five years. "We do not have council budget for this like Oxford Street or even Brighton. So, us, our friends, our families, would climb the ladders from the start of November until it was done, braving the winds and chill until the town was lit… and then having to take them back down in dreary January. Every year. We were not a group of staff employed by some higher body to do this. We were all volunteers. It's unsustainable - financially, physically and emotionally."
In recent years current Rye mayor Andy Stuart, and his predecessor Andi Rivett, have led a team of volunteers to install the lights.
Writing in an opinion piece for Rye News Jen Sinclair says most people in Rye don't understand how putting up the lights and running the festival is such a huge undertaking. "It isn’t a question of ‘just a few volunteers’ organising, fundraising, marketing and making sure a festival is safe and compliant. I recognise that the businesses in town have different priorities for Christmas events other than just a ‘fun day out’, but organising an event that serves the community, drives footfall and encourages people to shop in town needs many more people involved and more funding. There has to be a different way of doing things in the future where everyone’s priorities are met."
The technical challenge of putting up the Christmas lights is also an issue. Rye Town Council says it is unable to apply for insurance for the lights as the safety of the internal power connections and strength of the fixing points need to be checked.
The council will discuss the lights at its meeting at the town hall on Monday October 13. The agenda notes "conditions are not in place to erect the LED string lighting this year." Whatever decision is made at the meeting, it seems unlikely a solution will be found until next year.
Rye Chamber of Commerce has also been exploring a solution but says at present it does not have the funds or the manpower to make sure the current set of lights is safely installed. You can read more in the Chamber's latest newsletter. Rye Chamber is proposing a Christmas window competition and details of how to get involved will be posted soon.
Whilst the festival is not happening there will be still be plenty of events this Christmas. You can advertise your event on the town website here and by uploading the details to the Rye News what's on diary.
