HOLMES Chapel’s Christmas lights have been given an overwhelming vote of support from villagers.

Residents were asked by Holmes Chapel Parish Council for their views on the appearance of the festive lights.

For the past 15 years the parish council has funded Christmas lights around the village, with the cost being about £6,000 a year.

Over the next few years the council is looking to continue making improvements and possibly extending the area covered, but before this happened decided to seek the views of residents and businesses.

The consultation ran from December 20 to January 20, with 269 people answered the questionnaire, 87 per cent agreeing the current Christmas lights were appropriate for the village.

Sixty five per cent suggested further extensions and lamppost decorations, and one in five suggested changing the colour of the lights.

The council’s village infrastructure committee is recommended to continue using the coloured Christmas lights, to consider having an annual lights switch-on, to continue with the five-year plan to improve the decorations and to investigate possible lamppost lights.

Some of the positive comments about the lights were as follows.

“I love how the centre of the village is all lit for Christmas. An extension to spread the cheer further would be lovely.

“The decorations are beautiful, and I really appreciate the work that goes into the organisation.”

“I like the lights as they are. Please don't turn the village into a gaudy lightshow.

“I love the simplicity of the strings of lights, although not normally a fan of coloured lights they really cheer me up whenever I see them.

“I love all the colours and the simplicity. It is a small village and I think big displays would look tacky. At the moment it is beautiful.

“The lights in the village are ideal the way they are. I would not like to see lights added to lampposts. I would only say to extend areas covered by lights and possibly make them white to match the church tree that is decorated at Christmas.”

Below are some of the negative comments about the display.

“Lights should be a 'feature' of the village at Christmas, not just a few faded coloured bulbs strung round the precinct.”

“They are disappointing, old-fashioned and are not likely to attract anyone into the village nor cheer up those of us who live here.

“The lights look very dated and old-fashioned. The lights in Knutsford are really simple and yellow and look beautiful. I don’t think the lights show off the village.

“The lights look very tacky and not in keeping with how beautiful the village looks, they don’t show it off.”