Council set to sign off £500k for festive events

Newcastle City Council is expected to sign off the funding next week

A council is expected to sign off a £500,000 budget to fund festive celebrations.

Newcastle City Council's cabinet is due to make the decision on the spending from its cash reserves, with half of the money going to company Newcastle NE1 to help it stage the events.

A report prepared ahead of next week's meeting said last year's event had given the Tyneside economy a £57m boost.

It added a "key advantage" of providing the programme was to offer "light relief and delight for our residents, helping them through the continuing cost of living crisis".

Plans for the city’s festive celebrations include an expanded Christmas Market and a New Year’s Eve show, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Documents also refer to an as yet unannounced "unique hospitality offer" set up around Grey’s Monument and a new, free family entertainment area planned on Old Eldon Square.

'Key period'

Councillor Abdul Samad, the Labour council’s cabinet member for culture, said: "It is essential that Newcastle attracts visitors at this time of year, showcasing our fantastic city and supporting the local economy."

He added the market was mainly made up of local traders, meaning the authority was helping businesses maximise their revenue over the festive season.

Council bosses previously tore up a multi-year contract with a Nottingham-based firm to run the city’s Christmas market.

The decision came during uncertainty sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and following complaints from independent Tyneside traders that the 2019 event took vital income away from them.

Stephen Patterson, chief executive of Newcastle NE1, said Christmas was a key period for the city's businesses.

"It is essential that cities continue to evolve and change, and never more so than in the golden six weeks before Christmas," he said.