£144,272 on festive lighting scheme

BALLYMONEY Borough Council has agreed to spend a staggering £144,272 to light up the borough over Christmas and New year.

The festive lighting scheme contract for 2011 to 2015 was granted to Ballymoney’s JF and H Dowds which was the cheapest out of the four tenders.

Addressing the issue Director Mr John Michael explained that when broken down over the number of years, from 2011 to 2015, the annual cost was ‘slightly more than in 2010’ and was ‘within the budget set by Council for 2011’.

In response Cllr John Finlay said: “This seems like a lot of money however we don’t seem to have many options open to us. Is this for four or five years?”

Mr Micheal explained that the cost was £27,000 last year which included the erection of signs and strings as well as the relamping of the strings.

He continued: “The amount covers five years. And when you divide £144,272 by the number of years then the amount seems relative to inflation year on year.”