Dunbar Christmas ‘cancelled’ over community apathy

MEMBERS of a committee charged with organising Dunbar’s Christmas lighting decorations have all resigned in protest at a lack of interest from the wider community, meaning that the East Lothian town faces losing its festive sparkle next year.

Christmas lights in Dunbar High Street. Picture: Gordon Fraser

Although plans for this year’s festive season will not be disrupted by the mass walkout, the dissolution of the committee means there are no plans in place to provide lights for Christmas in 2014.

Committee members are said to be fed up of community apathy which has seen no-one volunteer to aid with Christmas preparations for the past two years. Only one person turned up to an annual general meeting in 2011.

In the past, firefighters, coast guards and local farmers have been enlisted to help with the committee’s plans, but chairman George Smith said that it was proving too difficult to recruit members of the public to volunteer.

He said: “The commitee has tried for several years to encourage members of the community to join the committe, but to no avail.

Committee member Derek Edmunds, 81, said: “Everybody enjoys the lights, but appear to not want to get involved. It really is a lot of work organising everything from health and safety reports to applying for the street closure, and really, six people is not anywhere near enough.”

He added: “It is sad that we’ve had to step down but it just cannot go on like this.”

Members of a Facebook page called Heart of Dunbar expressed dismay at the decision. Kirst Saunders, writing on the page, said: “Oh dear, I had no idea they’d been trying to get people to join the committee, without success. Time for Dunbar to step up and help out I think!”