FOUR Chippenham councillors are to meet with the Chippenham Business Improvement District in the New Year to review the much-criticised Christmas Lights Switch-On event.

The formal service review is part of the Service Level Agreement, adopted in April, between the two organisations to look at the BID’s events programme.

The meeting will include details of all the town council’s funding and expenditure such as the £15,000 of council money used by the BID on the Christmas Lights event.

Four members of the town’s Strategy and Resources committee, council leader Desna Allen, deputy leader Mark Packard and councillors Martin Coates and Peter Hutton will sit down with the BID board alongside town council chief executive and BID board member Sue Wilthew.

Mrs Wilthew said: “The BID has had an exceptionally successful year, there have been a lot of projects that have been implemented.”

And despite the public outcry at the Christmas Lights event, many councillors remain supportive of the BID’s efforts to improve the town.

Coun Sandie Webb said: “I am 100 per cent behind the BID, the only way this town is going to get better is BID money and our money, we have got to try and help it along.

“But at £40k a year, for the people we represent, we have got to be very careful of how that money is spent.”

Coun Hutton added “The challenge, which was evident at the light switch on, is the different approach. We are community focus, the BID is business focussed there will be a challenge associated there.

“I am sure we can improve it, but that’s the basic issue we are coming at it at different angles and we need to get our alignment better.”

But at Wednesday night's Strategy and Resources meeting (Dec 16) some councillors remain unconvinced by the BID’s progress.

“I am afraid I cannot agree with the chief executive that it’s been success,” Coun Linda Packard said.

“It was clear from the press reports and on social media that the Christmas lights switch on was consider by many to be a failure. I don’t think it’s been successful for the people of Chippenham, certainly some of the business don’t think it was a success.”

Coun Andy Phillips added: “One input we must have after this Christmas disaster is when a big town event like that is going to take place, that we have organised successfully in the past, we should have more input.”