Local traders raise funds for festive display

Christmas Lights will be coming to the High Street this year. To date over £12,000 has been raised by local traders to support the Christmas lights display. The lights will stretch from Classic Eyes near Brentford Lock down to the corner of Half Acre.

There will also be a display in The Market Place and Albany Parade. The Lights will be switched on at 4pm on the 30th November. An official switching on ceremony will take place at the Watermans Arts Centre from 6pm. A local school choir will sing Christmas carols and residents and guests will be invited to drink specialty hot chocolate, mulled wine and or spiced apple juice.

A four metre high Christmas Tree will be located at Watermans Arts Centre welcoming people to Brentford Centre from the East. Young people at Brentford’s four Primary Schools have also been involved in celebrating the arrival of the Christmas Lights. Children from Our Lady and St John's school have produced a massive amount of poems and pictures depicting Christmas scenes in Brentford.

Julia Quilliam of Quilliam Property Services said, “Brentford has never had Christmas lights and is probably the only area in Hounslow Borough which doesn’t have a display during the festive season. The traders decided to get together and do something positive about it. Since we started working on the Christmas lights and cards projects it has been amazing at just how many local people have come forward to donate money, time and ideas. It has really brought the community together in such a positive way."

Packs of twelve Christmas cards of ‘Brentford in Winter’ are now available from numerous traders up and down the High Street. Money raised from their sale will fund continued improvements to the lighting display in 2008.

Cllr Dakers, Chair of Brentford High Street Steering Group, commented “Organising Christmas lights was one of the recommendations coming out of the Community Vision for High Street. Achieving it in such a short space of time has been a phenomenal achievement and Julia and her team are to be congratulated. They have been supported ably by Watermans, local developers traders and the wider community. The Council has also been very supportive of the initiative.”

Lionel Road Primary School and St Pauls Primary School have been invited to make Christmas Decorations for the Watermans Tree and children from Green Dragon will be making posters supporting the Waterman's Christmas production.

The work created by the children will be on display at Watermans from the 30th November 2007.

November 23, 2007