Christmas 'Grinch' accused of blocking town's illuminations

A LYMINGTON shop owner has been branded a "Grinch" for allegedly trying to sabotage Christmas lights being put up on Quay Hill – after the town council spent two years getting planning permission for them.

Cllr Jacqui England, who is a town and district councillor, is said to have told workmen that they were not allowed to put up the so-called "ceiling of lights" in the street where she owns an ice cream shop.

The contractors, who are based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, more than 100 miles away from Lymington, had arrived with cranes to put the display up at about 11.45pm on 22nd November.

According to witnesses, Cllr England was seen “using” her role as an New Forest District Council member to claim the workmen did not have the required permission to install the lights.

Posting on social media, one revealed: “The Grinch decided to interrupt the contractor whilst trying to put the lights up and they had to stop.

“But the council has confirmed this morning that the Christmas lights will be rising on the cobbles Thursday evening. Fingers crossed the Grinch will not strike again!”

The Grinch is a character from a children’s book who hates Christmas and tries to ruin a town’s tree lighting ceremony along with stealing festive decorations.

After the contractors were told they could not put up the lights, they packed up and left, only to return six days later to complete the job.

According to a source at Lymington and Pennington Town Council, Cllr England’s interference may now end up with it having to pay between £1,200 and 1,500 extra for the lights to be installed.

They said: “The workmen were going to do Lymington on their way back from Salisbury, where they were doing a job, before returning to their base in Chesham.

“But on the evening they were due to put the lights up, Cllr England appeared on the scene and told them did not have the proper permission to do so.

“As the contractors could not reach anybody at the council at the time to confirm what the position was, they went home.

“They then had to come back later with four of them being put up at a local hotel so they could install the lights.

“At the moment no one has any idea why Cllr England did what she did. The ironic thing is that the ceiling of lights actually ends before it reaches her shop.”

A lighting-up ceremony was held on 28th November for the Quay Hill display which was attended by the mayor Lymington Cllr Anne Corbridge and Cllr Barry Dunning, chairman of the amenities committee which is responsible for the Christmas lights, plus several shop owners and residents.

A Quay Hill shop owner said they were “baffled” why Cllr England had taken the action: “We have no idea why she did this. A lot of us were angry about it because in the past the Quay has looked so out of step with the rest of the festive light display in Lymington.

“This year it looks wonderful and it has made a real difference to the amount of people coming down the cobbles to have a look round.”

Ashley Price, of interior design shop Starboard Home, agreed saying: “We have had a lot more footfall this year. The lights on the Quay look so lovely, it has encouraged people to continue on to the hill from the High Street which has been good for all the shops here.”

The ceiling had been something the town council had been working on for two years as it had to gain permission from NFDC to fit eyebolts and outdoor plugs to listed buildings amongst other requirements it had to meet.

The ceiling replaced a previous makeshift zigzag of illuminations which did not have permission and was ordered to be removed by Hampshire County Council.

A statement from the town council to the A&T revealed: “This year, despite an unfortunate attempt to thwart the work, we have continued the superb display into Quay Hill and Quay Street.

“The ceiling of lights looks fabulous and numerous Quay residents have been in touch to thank the town council for continuing to push forward and deliver the Quay area scheme, despite the many obstacles we faced over the last two years in getting to this point.

"It is our aim to deliver a display in Quay Hill and Quay Street year on year from this point on.”

A resident of Quay Hill said they understood that Cllr England had been ‘concerned’ about the work taking place so late at night and that the contractors did not have the necessary paperwork on them to prove they had permission to install the lights.

When contacted by the A&T Cllr England said she would be making a statement about her actions next week, saying: “There were reasons why I did what I did, not least health and safety, it being nearly midnight.”