Local businesses will have to pay more for festive lighting displays in the borough's five town centres because Wandsworth Council has slashed its annual funding.

The council ruled last month that the present £83,071 bill was "not sustainable" and did not represent value for money after costs of displays in Putney, Balham, Tooting, Clapham Junction and Wandsworth almost trebled since 1998/99.

Wandsworth will now provide "standard" 40-day displays at a cost of around £50,000. It will scrap displays outside the town centres and ban sponsorship advertising boards from lighting displays in Tooting and Balham.

It also ruled that local businesses should pay for any

"enhanced" displays in Balham, Tooting, Wandsworth, Clapham and Putney town centres.

Previously, under a complex funding mechanism, the council tried to match funding from private businesses and other sources with cash from the Town Centre Improvement Scheme.

But local firms contributed only £10,010 last year - a shortfall of almost £2,710 on the council's projected costs.

The decision followed a council report which concluded that festive lighting displays marking festivals from Christmas, Navratri, Diwali and Eid had "lost their commercial impact".

It said: "With one or two exceptions, few of the national retailers contribute to this sort of initiative and there is no mechanism to enforce contributions. There is no proven direct correlation between such promotions and increased trade. The current arrangements are not sustainable."

But local businesses claim the decision undermines the council's partnership with traders over erecting festive lighting.

Indrajet Patel, leader of the Tooting Business Network, said the decision would leave local businesses out of pocket. For example, last year's multicultural festive lighting cost £30,000.

He added: "Overall we are very uncertain about the project this year. We are worried about the proposals in that it does not take into account that different town centres have different volumes of people going to them.

"The project produced more light in the area and less crime. The view of most businesses is that it started a good feeling whereby people came in to shop. If the project is under question, it's going to have negative effect."

July 12, 2002 10:30