ANDOVER will look a lot more festive this Christmas as the town council has decided to extend the area its illuminations cover.

Andover Town Council has agreed to erect Christmas lights on 85 columns and spend nearly £33,000 per year on new designs.  

The festive lights were discussed at a meeting of the authority on Wednesday, February 21, after it had received three quotes for new motifs ranging from £24,000 to £35,000.

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As part as an overhaul of the decorations, the lights will be extended to encompass George Yard Car Park, Black Swan Yard Car Park and Waterloo Court, with further consideration of additional columns along Western Avenue.

Cllr Katherine Bird said: "This is to decide a Christmas light design for the next four years and having looked at the three options, Option C is the high end but still cheaper than Option B, which is in the middle range and overall its £8,000 a year more than the basic option.

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"I would propose that this town is worth having a high-end design for, so I would like to propose that we agree on the high-end option C which will cost £32,896.95 per year for the next four years."

All of the new lights twinkle and are made of recycled materials so are said to be in line with the town council’s commitment to making positive decisions for the environment where possible.

The council voted unanimously in favour of spending £32,896.95 per year on the lights.