CHRISTMAS lights are vital to boost trade and community spirit, a new report says.
A council review of festive lights and decorations recommends lights must go up across the whole of Kirklees for commercial and community reasons.
Many villages and towns have struggled to meet the demands of putting the lights up and paying for them every year.
Some areas have even gone without.
It costs £67,700 to light up Kirklees. Half of this is paid for by the council and the rest is funded by community groups and organisations.
"The actual benefits for Kirklees of festive lights and decorations are difficult to quantify," says the report.
" Many factors impact on trade in the festive season and benefits such as civic pride and improved community spirit are not easily measured.
"This does not mean, however, that they are not important. Displays and events would simply not go ahead without the dedication and hard work of small groups of people in local areas."
Tory Clr Nigel Patrick, who headed the review of Christmas lighting, wants a new role to be created within the council to support groups who put up the lights every year.
He said: "The support these organising bodies get is as important as the money. Things like health and safety and insurance could be sorted out by Kirklees and that would make life much easier for the local groups.
"Now it is up to the Cabinet to decide whether they do give someone the responsibility of helping the communities with the festive decorations or whether they leave them alone and watch some of them undoubtedly disappear.
"The lights are important for many different reasons. Some businesses rely totally on Christmas trade to survive through the rest of the year.
"But it is more than that. Having lights up is tradition - Christmas would not be the same without them."
