Alderley Edge Parish Council are keen for the Christmas lights switch on to be moved from The Parade to London Road next year to enable it to be a much bigger affair.
Discussing the switch on, which for years has been organised by Mitch Gilbert of Rainbow Balloons on behalf of village traders, and Sunday's Christmas Fair and Market organised by local resident Christine Munro, the Parish Council decided they will get involved in the organisation of next year's events.
They agreed at Monday's meeting to get a couple of councillors together with village traders to explore the idea of closing London Road and combining the lights switch on with a Christmas market, traders staying open late and fireworks.
Speaking about the Christmas lights switch on, Cllr Matthew Lloyd said "I thought there was a health and safety issue there. It was really really busy and when Father Christmas arrived the rush around him was six people deep, little children were in there and there was no crowd control."
Cllr Melanie Connor said "It should not be held on the parade, it is dark, on a slope and there are pot holes. It is a nightmare."
Discussing the Christmas Fair & Market, held in the village on Sunday 11th December, Cllr Keegan raised concerns about safety because he felt the pavements were not accessible at several points, making it necessary to walk on the road.
He also raised the issue that when he walked down the village at 10am all the parking places had been taken by stallholders, leaving no room for customers.
Frank Keegan told fellow parish councillors "If it was a community event we could have got the road closed for free but because it was profit making event we couldn't."
Cllr Mike Williamson said "I think it is a fantastic idea to make it a bigger affair, we need to get a couple of councillors to approach traders to make it a better event."
Running four local websites means we have spent the past few weeks attending Christmas events in Alderley Edge, Wilmslow, Prestbury and Knutsford, which has been interesting but also unfortunately an expensive affair when you have two young children in tow.
One of the best events we have attended in recent weeks is the Prestbury Christmas Street Party, organised by Prestbury Parish Council and St Peter's Church. This is only the second year the street party has been held but it is an amazing, traditional community event where they shut the main road and the majority of village residents turn out.
Knutsford's Christmas lights switch on was another great event, organised by the Town Council. King Street, Canute Place and the connecting road were closed to traffic to allow Santa to parade in a sleigh pulled by (real) reindeers. The police reckon 3000 people turned out for the festive celebrations where the atmosphere was fantastic, until the teenage girls realised the lights were being switched on by George Osborne, rather than One Direction's Harry Styles, as rumoured on twitter.
Would you like London Road to be closed to traffic next year for the Christmas lights switch on? Combined with a Christmas market and local traders staying open?
Let us know your thoughts on this year's events and ideas for next year using the comment box below.
Photo: Prestbury Christmas Street Party 2011 - take a look through the photos from both this years and last year's Prestbury Christmas Street Party over on prestbury.com.
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