It seems unlikely there will be any official Christmas lights in Rye this year. There are currently no plans to put up the usual decorations which have hung from shops and homes in the town centre for almost a decade each winter.
The news follows the cancellation of the Christmas Festival, which was announced three weeks ago.
Both have fallen victim to a lack of volunteers, concerns about safety, issues with insurance, and little or no funding says Sophie Thorpe who has led the festival since 2022. “It’s been hurdle after hurdle after hurdle. The lights look incredible when they are up but it’s a logistical nightmare making them happen.”
The charity responsible for the festival is being wound up because several of the trustees have moved away, which means there is currently no organisation to apply for insurance for the lights and no money to pay for it. Sophie Thorpe says a new solution that’s properly funded is urgently needed. “That the whole issue has been brought to a head now by the changes at the charity shows just how unsustainable it has become.”
“It is no-one’s responsibility to put up the Christmas lighting,” says Jen Sinclair, one of the locals who started the Christmas Festival in 2015 and an organiser for five years. “We do not have council budget for this like Oxford Street or even Brighton. So, us, our friends, our families, would climb the ladders from the start of November until it was done, braving the winds and chill until the town was lit… and then having to take them back down in dreary January. Every year. We were not a group of staff employed by some higher body to do this. We were all volunteers. It’s unsustainable – financially, physically and emotionally.”
In recent years current Rye mayor Andy Stuart, and his predecessor Andi Rivett, have led a team of volunteers to install the lights.
Writing in an opinion piece for Rye News Jen Sinclair says most people in Rye don’t understand how putting up the lights and running the festival is such a huge undertaking. “It isn’t a question of ‘just a few volunteers’ organising, fundraising, marketing and making sure a festival is safe and compliant. I recognise that the businesses in town have different priorities for Christmas events other than just a ‘fun day out’, but organising an event that serves the community, drives footfall and encourages people to shop in town needs many more people involved and more funding. There has to be a different way of doing things in the future where everyone’s priorities are met.”
The technical challenge of putting up the Christmas lights is also an issue. Rye Town Council says it is unable to apply for insurance for the lights as the safety of the internal power connections and strength of the fixing points need to be checked.
The council will discuss the lights at its meeting at the town hall on Monday October 13. The agenda notes “conditions are not in place to erect the LED string lighting this year.” Whatever decision is made at the meeting, it seems unlikely a solution will be found until next year.
Rye Chamber of Commerce has also been exploring a solution but says at present it does not have the funds or the manpower to make sure the current set of lights is safely installed. You can read more in the Chamber’s latest newsletter. Rye Chamber is proposing a Christmas window competition and details of how to get involved will be posted soon.
Whilst the festival is not happening there will be still be plenty of events this Christmas. You can advertise your event on the town website here and by uploading the details to the Rye News what’s on diary.
Image Credits: Nick Forman , KT Bruce .
Total shambles as per regarding these lights. We could have done something if the festival organisers had told us in time.
You were told in repeated meetings held each year to ‘organise the festival’ that a sustainable solutions needed finding…
Did you not attend the meeting for the ‘proposed new lighting scheme’ at the Brewery Yard in 2023?
… why didn’t ‘we’ step up in the first place then to help organise and volunteer?
If Tenterden can afford to do a magnificent display every year, why can’t Rye? Maybe Rye Council should contact them for advice. I think it’s an appalling state of affairs.
I would like to thank the many volunteers and organisers over the years for making this happen. Having organised festivals in another village it is absolutely a lot of work and takes an incredible amount of time. Unfortunately, I already hear the blame game starting, probably from people who never volunteer to do anything in town. Personally, in future, I don’t think public money should be used to support the lights or the festival. If a charity or volunteer organisation cannot be formed, perhaps it’s best to leave it at that. Ultimately this would seem to be a function of the Chamber of Commerce and not taxpayers, unless the latter agree to an increase in taxes or a special festival tax.
Couldn’t agree more. How many of the ‘complainers’ moaning about what others should have done actually step up to organise and/or get involved themselves …?
Rye without Christmas lights will be like the pilot without fish and chips. The end.
It’s probably more to do with the lack of volunteers than the money. Many hands make lights work, if you’ll excuse the pun.
Hear, hear. The lack of volunteers seems to be a nationwide issue; not just local. I’m not entirely sure what has caused the sad demise of community activities in such cases – Rye and Winchelsea, as well as the surrounding villages – do themselves proud when it comes to rallying round, but those involved can only do so much.
I also note that Rye Town Council’s budget for Ceremonies for 24/25 is £25,000 and for 25/26 is £29,160. Also that Ghost Walks for 25/26 is £5,000. Why can’t some of this money be allotted to a ring fenced Christmas Lights fund?
Christmas lights in Rye, quite literally, lights up a significant time of year and cheers both visitors and residents alike. It shouldn’t be run by volunteers, but by the Council.
I don’t normally comment on posts, however I think that Martin Kyran’s criticism is totally unfair – who is the ‘we’ who could have done something? The organisers of the Christmas Festival have worked their backsides off to make it happen in previous years, I do not think that Mr Kyran has been part of the team of volunteers – if he had been he would have known about the issues already.
Regarding C Parkin’s comment, Tenterden is part of Ashford Borough and benefits from their funding base.
Maybe it’s time the Rye fund which supports others each year, a sum could be put aside for next years celebrations, each year we see the same people getting handouts,surely it’s time a lot of them do their own fund raising, instead of relying on the Rye fund to finance their operations.
John, is this a yes to supporting the Christmas festival with a donation of time and or money? You make so many negative and critical comments about Rye that I was getting excited this one might be a positive one.
How very sad to read this…… Rye looks magnificent when the lights are ablaze. Sadly I can’t attend the council meeting on Monday as I’ll be working. However I will put myself forward to become a volunteer to assist with the lighting if its not too late to make this happen. I really hope this can be sorted for our lovely town.
Pat Hughes, I also never comment on these posts either or the Christmas Lights. I campaigned hard to have these lights put up 4 years ago, I also gave the organisers a list of volunteers. I have always been grateful and I have always thanked the volunteers.
We were told via text 2 weeks ago that there would be no festival and no lights. We were not allowed to reply to the text so we were not able to ask any questions. WE ( as in the community and local businesses ) could have tried to organise Christmas.
My comment was in no way an attempt to diminish previous years festival or the lights. The fact that I commented in the first place proves I care and appreciate Christmas in Rye.
The community is more than capable of raising money. I contribute to all the festivals, the old ones and the new ones.
If it is not possible to have Christmas lights along the High Street etc. what about having a Best Dressed Christmas Window for each business in Rye? I’m sure the shop owners would enjoy the oompetition and the public would love to see/enjoy the results!!
It is truly heartbreaking that its unlikely our town will be lit this year, but none of the decisions to ever NOT do something are even taken lightly…
The fact the Ltd company needs to be wound up is no-ones fault, but it forces the hand to allow for a newly formed CIC to be established and plans to be made…if thats what the town wants?
In closing the company alternative options for insurance and overall management of the lighting alone have been heavily investigated but unfortunately for many reasons a temporary fix has failed to be found, thus resulting in the decision being made to now STOP altogether and use this time to survey, consult and implement a new, sustainable and compliant option which in this world is absolutely necessary….
The fact that 2 people (only 1 local) has had the heartbreaking decision to accept defeat for 2025 shows where the real problem lies….if something as significant as town Christmas lighting affects so many individuals then it requires all those individuals (or a good portion of them) to collectively come together to make them happen.
I am happy to host a meeting in January 2026 to discuss what is required for the lighting alone amd how we find and fund the solution and in the mean time will be asking my colleagues to agree on Monday night to fund the safe storage of the lights for next 12 months so this incredible asset is not lost.
As a Ryer albeit living abroad currently, I have to say that it is so sad that there will be no Christmas lights this year. I totally appreciate the fantastic work and effort put in to the Christmas Festival and the Lights. My Dad along with us and other willing volunteers were instrumental In setting up those lights that used to span the high street….. Yes health and safety was a less than major concern in those times!
The more recent blue tinged lights embellishing our beautiful town’s attributes have been wonderful and great work by the former Mayor Andy and his team made it happen.What is the ball park amount for making this happen this year? I might be able to help
Back in 2015, following a brave but doomed attempt by a few people from the Chamber of Commerce to produce a Christmas Festival, I (as the current Mayor) recognised that it was time a new aproach was taken and hosted a public meeting to try to drum up new volunteers, ideas, enthusiasm and above all commitment. The result of that meeting was that a fantastic band of people came together, battled against almost impossible odds to gain enough funding, gave hours and hours of their personal time and produced the most fantastic Christmas Festival Rye had seen in many a year. Those same volunteers went on year after year to bring a seasonal spectacle to our town and the trade benefits that come with it. However, behind the spectacle, are the difficulties, the knockbacks, the practicalities, the costs, and the logistics and sheer effort required. The members of the Rye Christmas Group and those organisations and individuals who have supported with funding and labour should be congratulated and humbly thanked for what they have given to the town of Rye for the past decade, not critisised and harrangued for being unable to continue to do so.
Any group looking to ‘rescue’ Christmas in Rye should look to this example and be fully prepared for the slog involved in what this amazing group of people has acheived for so many years
Very sad about the lights especially as this is a ‘draw’ and good for business. I was interested in the £29,160 for Ceremonies. What does this go on?
A good question. Is there a link to a full breakdown of this spending?
Paul – It’s not spending – it’s income. The £29k is the income the Council expects to receive from hosting wedding ceremonies at the Town Hall. The council charges couples between £350 – £550 (depending on date) to hold their wedding ceremony at the Town Hall.
Over to Rye town Council, to give us a breakdown of which Ceremonies benefit from this huge sum of ratepayers money.
John – it’s income, not expenditure. The Ceremonies budget category is the income received by the Town Council for hosting wedding ceremonies at the Town Hall.
How sad the High St will be without lights…I am up for a fund raising concert at the Queens Head. I have spoken to Rye musicians and we could put on a fund raising concert together at short notice…..
I agree with the earlier suggestion by Vickie Nocera that a best dressed window display competition is a very good idea.
What happened to A Rye Good Window Wanderland? A fantastic display was created with community involvement in 2023.
We aren’t from Rye but have visited on the festival weekend for the last 4 years, staying over at least 4 nights. We love the town and it seems shortsighted that there isn’t public funding for events and lights when they are such a draw at Christmas. Surely a sound economic investment as well as just being good for the community?