Hopes to revive the ‘glass box’

THIS year’s festive display in Barnard Castle is to feature a splash of colour to the sea of white icicle lights.

At their latest meeting, the town’s Christmas lights committee agreed to get coloured lights for 20 small trees which hang from above the shops along Horsemarket and Market Place.
The meeting was told each tree display would be made up of 160 bulbs. Committee member Karen Bowers said: “It would make the town look a bit different and it would show people we are doing something different again.”
However, plans to bring the former Barnard Castle Vision glass box back into use have ground to a halt.
The box is currently used for storage at Teesdale School and, inspired by the success of last year's “Snow Globe” at the lights switch-on ceremony, the committee had hoped it could form part of the town’s display. However, chairman Roger Peat said it was a non-starter at the moment.
“Corner Transport inspected the site at Teesdale School but they have not got any suitable vehicle to lift the box. It needs a really large crane, so that’s on hold at the moment,” he explained.
The committee is progressing plans to improve the display on The Bank this December.
A string of white lights is planned but 60 brackets are needed on buildings to hold them. The committee is planning to cone off one side of The Bank to cars, install the brackets and then do the same on the other side so as not to cause too much congestion. The latest confirmed fundraising event is a race night at Barnard Castle Cricket Club on Saturday, November 18.
Others on the cards include a Christmas-themed flower demonstration and an Italian evening at Vivo.
The next meeting of the Barnard Castle Christmas Lights Committee will be on Tuesday, May 30, at the Old Well Inn.
There are still vacancies on the committee and anyone interested in joining, or requiring further information, can contact secretary Sam Brown on 07584 233581.