Council bosses have been accused of “cancelling Christmas” by setting tough rules on communities and businesses wanting to get into the Christmas spirit.
The regulations by Kirklees Council were revealed in a 37-page document focusing on consent and standards.
YorkshireLive reports it appears to relate only to Christmas lights.
Other festivals and faith events, such as Diwali in early November, are not affected.
The regulations lay out robust rules for anyone intending to decorate town centres – and even requires them to provide £10m public liability insurance cover to indemnify the council against third-party claims for loss, injury or damage.
The guidelines are likely to affect several communities in the area.
Christmas lights in all of those are organised variously by town councils, chambers of trade or private sponsors.
In Mirfield festive light displays are organised by the town council.
Town Mayor Martyn Bolt – a district Conservative councillor in Kirklees – said the requirements of the new policy appeared to be weighted against communities.
He said: “It feels rushed. It was signed off in June but there’s been no consultation on this. Instead the council is dictating to communities.
“They’re saying, ‘This is what we’re going to do – and you, the communities, are going to have to do it for this year.’ It’s taken a lot of people by surprise.”
He said the new policy had been based on a document that dated back more than a decade but that introducing it with no prior warning was unfair.
He added: “There is now a rush to try and comply, and concern if not panic from people from different communities. They’re asking what it all means.
“And if contractors or communities are not members of the various bodies that the council demands – and if they can’t get the huge insurance cover – then their displays could be scrapped.
“It’s like the council is cancelling Christmas.”
Kirklees Council was approached to comment.
The council’s Festive Lighting Manual advises that permission shall only be granted for festive lighting installations to be installed for a maximum of seven weeks during the period from November 13 to January 14.
Anyone intending to install lights needs a licence covering that key period: a maximum of 63 days.
Installation is allowed from ten working days prior to November 13 with lights to be removed by January 14.
To comply with health and safety requirements applicants or their contractors must be skilled and competent with contractors being members of the Association of Street Lighting Electrical Contractors (ASLEC).
Groups can also apply for a grant of up to £1,250 but in doing so they must agree to an array of conditions including providing electricity consumption details, agreeing not to fit equipment to concrete, cast iron, aluminium, or glass- reinforced polyester (GRP) lamp posts, “unless they are specifically designed for the wind and weight loading”, and refraining from adding advertising logos.
A letter offering grants was sent out on September 13 with forms to be returned by September 31, which puzzled those who received it.
Cllr Bolt added: “Two years after a critical report to Kirklees and promises from the leadership of change, we still have Clr Pandor’s paternalistic policies of doing things to communities rather than working with communities as he promised.”
As well as likening the new policy to “cancelling Christmas” he asked: “Is it really a Festive Lighting Manual or [is it] aimed at Christmas lighting?”
