Australian Christmas Lights in Atherstone!

[Madhatter]

Atherstone has Australian Christmas lights this year! Unbelievable but true.


The installation company contracted by Atherstone town council has so little knowledge and experience of erecting Christmas lights that they fitted them upside down. I told The Four Counties Electrical contractors their mistake and they said 'I thought they were' but then said 'na they ain't'. Yet again, for the third year running the lights are fitted with inappropriate fixings. They should be fitted with proper lamp post brackets. A professional Christmas Light installation company would know this. Inapproriate fittings will void the PL insurance cover.

[Madhatter]

Well the long street lights are even more amazing this year!, well done to all the chiefs who refused to ask us for help, You've ended up paying to get them up here, I'd arranged that for free, You've ended up getting them far too late for any maintenance so you've now got lights that are bent up and broken, so so badly damaged they can't go up. There's non by the midland bank, and non in the centre of town.
You asked an inexperienced company midland sign and lighting, who've never done Christmas lights before to put them up only two weeks ago saying that you had no one else to do it.
There's no skill in hanging lights and plugging them in but there is in maintaining them, hanging them so that they look good and don't move in the wind.

[Madhatter]

They never even made it through dickens night, some tripped halfway through, how embarassing.
Like the new lights in the trees, shame they're not installed to the best. looks like half of them are missing from the middle. I've never seen the trees look as good as when remco fitted them the first year.

[JoshBaskin]

The one's on the lampost by the co-op got twisted in the wind, they couldn't have been put on very tight. I hope they aren't scrap because I like those ones.

[Madhatter]

Looks like they have been scrapped cos they haven't gone up. We have one on a lamp post in the Market Square that shouldn't be there and isn't connected. We have one missing on a lamp post at Ratcliffe Street, we Have one missing on a lamp post the junction of Woolpack Way and we have an over the road one missing by Midland Bank on Long Street, that effectively means that Atherstone Christmas Lights end at Somerfield.

We have another missing on a lamp post at the rear of Somerfield, Another over the road is missing in the middle of the town, another by the Memorial Hall is disconnected because it keeps tripping the electrical supply. The 'Happy Chrismas' is missing off the Memorial Hall too.
The lights in the trees at the bus station was never replaced due to plm's incompetance in inatalling them. They wasn't attached to the trees securely so hung down and got damaged either by yobs, traffic or both.
Many of the lights have sections out. It's not difficult for a competant person to replace these sections, On over the road has more lights off than on.

But be assured by the fact that this years town centre Christmas lights were bought to you by Atherstone Town Council, using lights that we raised the money for, lights that are now badly in need of replacement.

Church street sees a new overhead this year, I'm not sure why councillors chose to go for the same as what we had, people like to see something different. They think it's the same light unit. Who knows maybe it is as they last years, I've got some over 25 years old.


One thing I am concerned about is why the council has took it upon them selves to replace the sockets down long street. There was nothing wrong with those sockets. It's a waste of taxpayers money and if they're not Ip 67 or greater they'll have to be replaced again for a third time.

The Code Of Practice For The Installation And Operation Of Seasonal Decorations On Or Above The Public Highway states that all plugs, sockets and connectors shall comply fully with BS4343 and shall have an IP rating of not less than IP67 according to BS5490 unless used within a weatherproof enclosure with an IP ratiing of not less than IP67 according to BS5490. I very much doubt that the ones fitted are greater than IP 56, thus in effect voiding the highway authority's permission to hang lights over a public highway. This was one of the reasons why we had no lights in 2002, lamp holders junction boxes and connectors wasn't weatherproof, only splash proof. This is fine if I do it on private land for lights on a private building as I don't require Highway Authorities approval, local council do though.