Manchester Council spends more on Christmas lights than anywhere else in England

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester Council spends more money on Christmas lights than anywhere else in England, new data suggests. The town hall's budget for Christmas lights and other decorations is around £250,000 this year, according to the figures.

Like many other councils across the country, Manchester's Christmas lights budget has actually been cut this year. Last year, the local authority spent £285,210 on decorations during the holiday season, meaning the budget has been cut by 12 per cent for Christmas 2024.

Based on the data provided by councils that responded to the Freedom of Information requests by Hexo Electrical Testing - which submitted requests to more than 500 local authorities - at least £12.7m of taxpayer’s money has been budgeted for the installation, de-installation and hire of Christmas light displays across the UK, a small decrease from 2023 of 0.49 per cent. READ MORE: Mapped: The Greater Manchester boroughs with highest rates of homelessness The company found that only councils in Belfast and Lisburn and Castlereagh in Northern Ireland and Glasgow in Scotland have allocated more money for festive illuminations this year.

In the North West of England, the reduction in Christmas lights budgets has been larger though, with a 6.61 per cent cut compared to the total spent last year.