Looking forward to a brighter Christmas

Torquay's  Christmas lights will be shining brighter than Rudolph the reindeer's red nose after a £40,000 investment. 

The news came as Torbay Town Centres chief executive Lucy Ball spoke to the Chamber of Trade about the Torquay Business Improvement District (BID) scheme. She revealed that she was "shocked" when she first arrived in the Bay at the number of traders who did not even put a tree in their window during the festive season. Now the BID will be sinking money into new Christmas lights and a "mystery" seasonal display on the harbourside.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: "We are going to put Torquay on the map at Christmas time. We are having a big feature on the harbourside and it is going to be a mystery until it is unveiled. We want to encourage new people to use Torquay at Christmas time and people who have strayed away to come back. It is going to be great."

The £40,000 will be divided between £10,000 on upgrading the lights infrastructure, £10,000 on installing and taking down the lights and £20,000 on the lights. This money will also pay for the mystery display.

Speaking at the meeting, Mrs Ball said there would be an "enhanced carnival and switch-on day to really, really get Torquay back on the map at Christmas time". She added: "We are sticking with Thursday for late-night shopping because we created so much noise last year, and the retailers in town have asked us to stick with it." She also talked about the need to ensure shoppers used the whole of the town and did not just stay on the harbourside.