14/10/2026
๐๐ข๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐ก๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ช๐๐ง๐ "๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐จ๐ฃ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ"
๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐ต ๐ข๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ
๐๐
๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐น & ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐จ๐ฝ ๐๐
๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐๐จ๐) ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ
Axminster Town Council and the Light Up Axminster volunteer team are pleased to issue a joint announcement outlining the proposals to secure the future of Axminsterโs Christmas lighting display and associated festive events. Following a positive transition meeting between the Town Clerk, Paul Hayward (on behalf of the Town Council) and Light Up Axminster volunteers, it is hereby announced that Axminster Town Council will officially take over the management, installation, storage, and funding of the townโs festive lighting display from 2026.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
To ensure that the Christmas lighting display remains sustainable and resilient for years to come, Light Up Axminster is formally gifting all of its physical lighting assets to Axminster Town Council at nil cost. This collaborative agreement will transition the display from being carried and delivered by a small group of individual volunteers to a permanent Town-Council-backed infrastructure project.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐น๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
The Town Council and the entire Axminster community owe an immense debt of gratitude to the volunteers who have kept Axminster shining for the past decade.
โข Kara & Paul Burrough: Particular recognition goes to Kara, who stepped down earlier this year after leading and chairing Light Up Axminster for ten years, alongside her husband
Paul, for their tireless work behind the scenes and year-round asset management.
โข Past & present champions, including Cindy and Lee Furse, Axminster Christmas Lights Association and the Chamber of Commerce. Our heartfelt thanks are extended to the public for supporting Light Up Axminster for over a decade and to all past champions, as well as every single volunteer who have spent countless evenings and weekends erecting displays in all weathers, fundraising and organising & marshalling events.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ & ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐
The Town Council will, from this point onwards, fully manage the logistics, safety compliance, and physical setup for the 2026 festive display:
โข Shopfront trees at NIL charge: This Year, the Town Council will provide approximately 60 Christmas trees fitted with uniform battery-powered lights to all existing shopfront brackets around the town at no cost to local businesses. Donations would be welcomed but are entirely voluntary.
โข Minster Green & Guildhall Displays: A central 'feature' tree will be installed on the Minster Green, and volunteers will assist in dressing the festive trees inside the Guildhall.
โข Safety & Technical Infrastructure: The Town Council will assume responsibility for Portable Appliance testing of lighting equipment, arrange and fund secure year-round storage, provide electrical box maintenance and repairs, and facilitate heavy equipment access (including cherry pickers for overhead street spans).
โข Ongoing Volunteer Involvement: Current Light Up Axminster volunteers will work directly alongside the Council, lending their invaluable experience and hands-on help during the tree dressing and installation period.
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป & ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต-๐ข๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Residents can rest assured that lights will go up and shine brightly throughout Axminster this Christmas.
While there will be no formal, large-scale 'big switch-on' event requiring road closures this year, community spirit remains at the heart of the celebration.
Concurrent plans are underway by one of our key community partners, Axminster Carnival Committee, to host a festive community gathering on Minster Green featuring traditional carol singing, festive gazebos, and seasonal refreshments for all the community to enjoy.
๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐.
For 2026, the Town Council is committed to working with existing volunteers to provide the maximum amount of illumination in the town centre area, and will be working with organisations to provide a festive event of some kind, even if the switching-on of the lights cannot be coordinated for the same evening.
For 2027 onwards, the Town Council has been considering its budget proposals in recent weeks and the intention is to step up into shoes of Light Up Axminster and take on the complete responsibility for Christmas Lighting in the town, which will inevitably require funding, resourcing and organisation. But, the Town Council recognises the importance of Christmas Lights to residents and will ensure that the right investment is provided to build upon what Light Up Axminster provided since 2016 and take us forward for the next decade to come.
There are challenges in the town; we donโt have a linear high street like neighbouring towns and there are constraints in terms of mounting illuminations relating to listed buildings, heritage structures and installation factors. But, the Town Council intends to rise to these challenges with a spirit of positivity to ensure that we can carry the community along with us on the journey.
๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ & ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐
Following this joint announcement, the Light Up Axminster page will be retired. All future enquiries, volunteer offers, and communications regarding the town's Christmas lights should now be directed to Axminster Town Council. This is a fantastic, positive step forward for Axminster. By bringing the lights under the Town Council's care while retaining the passion of our local volunteers, we will ensure that our town centre remains bright, festive, and welcoming for every resident, every business and all of our visitors, each and every Christmas.
