Huntingdon Christmas Lights Tender

Overview

Huntingdon Town Council is the most local tier of government in Huntingdon. We provide services for over 24,000 residents and strive to make Huntingdon a better place to live, work and visit. These services include community venues, sports facilities, parks and open spaces, a crematorium and cemeteries, allotments and community & seasonal events such as the annual Christmas Market, complimented by a town centre Christmas lighting. Huntingdon town centre consists of over 300 businesses covering key sectors such as retail, hospitality, business and professional services. Monthly footfall for the town centre during 2025 averaged at 514,128 with numbers for the month of December at 540,101. Since 2017, the Christmas Lights Switch On event has launched the town's annual Christmas Market, with footfall numbers over the 2025 event weekend totalling over 50,000. Background Information Huntingdon Town Council has included the provision of town centre Christmas lighting in its service offering for many years. The Council is committed to ensuring best value for money, partnered with giving residents and visitors to the town bespoke festive lighting displays that are changed on a three-year rolling programme. Huntingdon's Christmas lights are always installed after the town's Armistice services have taken place in November. They are switched on as part of the big 'Switch On' event, usually held across the last weekend of November. The switch on is undertaken by the Mayor of Huntingdon, accompanied by festive characters and invited guests. Year on year, the Town Council, in partnership with BID Huntingdon and Huntingdonshire District Council puts on an increasing number of festive events in the town centre, putting Huntingdon on the map as a Christmas destination. The lighting scheme in Huntingdon has historically consisted of: • Cross street displays (13 No.) • Lamppost motifs (12 No.) • 3D roof mounted motifs (2 x pieces for Town Hall north side flat roof) • Ceilings of light (Chequers Court and St Germain Walk) • Feature tree lighting (St Benedicts Court, St Mary's Church) • Christmas tree lighting (Bus Station, St Mary's Church and Sainsbury's) Huntingdon High Street forms the centre of our historic market town, and with its history comes a mixture of building heights and materials. This means suitability for lighting schemes and fixtures in some areas have proven to be challenging in previous years. For 2026, we would like to provide greater lighting coverage to support businesses who have fallen outside of the previously illuminated areas, ensuring that we promote more shops and services to our community than ever before. We are seeking bids from Christmas lighting contractors to provide and install a new 3-year festive lighting scheme for Huntingdon town centre for residents and visitors to the town to enjoy. This should be delivered within an identified budget of £25,000 per year, totalling £75,000 over a 3 year contract. Design Brief Please find below a detailed design brief for Huntingdon Town Council's Christmas Lights as part of this Christmas Light Tender Bid. This specification covers all three years of the contract, commencing November 2026 and finishing after the 2028 Christmas period. This is the minimum required lighting offer that Huntingdon Town Council will accept for this Tender Bid. Theme The theme for the Huntingdon Christmas Market for 2026-28 will be Candy Cane Lane, and all associated graphics and promotional materials will be linked to this. A mood board with inspiration is listed in the appendix. Christmas Trees Huntingdon Town Council source 4 x 12ft tall Christmas trees and arrange for their placement in the All-Saints Churchyard, Bus Station Green, St Mary's Churchyard and outside Sainsburys in St Germain Walk on or around the 2nd week of November. Additionally, there are three trees in St Benedicts Court and three trees in St Mary's Churchyard which are decorated for the Christmas period. Huntingdon Town Co