Popular Christmas lights switch-on under threat this year

The Llandaff Christmas Lights event is hugely popular but faces an uncertain future due to cost issues

A local Welsh charity have announced the possible cancellation of their Christmas event due to rising costs. Over the last four years, Calon Hearts has brought the Llandaff Christmas Lights event to the community in Cardiff but due to "staggering costs" put in place by the council it may not go ahead this year.

Each Christmas, a crowd of people celebrate the switching on of the festive lights with Christmas markets, choirs and street food in Llandaff. The charity dedicated to supporting heart health across Wales, Calon Hearts, says that without a sponsor for the event it will not go ahead after facing "staggering council costs."

The charity has hosted many events in the Welsh capital over the last 13 years including the May day carnival, the Llandaff Christmas market and the annual Santa dash. Calon Hearts rely on events such as the Christmas lights event to help fund free heart screenings from donations. For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here

READ MORE: Cardiff restaurant loved by Jay Rayner reveals big plans on fifth anniversary

READ MORE: The former Co-op covered in graffiti and rubbish that's stuck in limbo

Sharon Owen, director of Calon Hearts, expressed her concerns about the broader impact this could have on the community of Llandaff. She said: "We are heartbroken to have to possibly cancel this year’s Christmas Lights event.

"This has been a key part of our local festivities, and many families and businesses look forward to it every year. The council's eye-wateringly high costs are making it unfeasible for smaller organisations like ours to host these events, which not only bring the community together but also help charities like Calon Hearts raise essential funds.

"We urge the council to think again about the impact their decisions will have—not just on our charity, but on many other local events that are under threat. We understand times are tough, but cancelling events like this leaves our community with a serious lack of festive cheer."

When putting on events in Cardiff, event organisers are required to pay the council for costs including a Traffic Regulation Order, members of staff and renting of council owned areas such as car parks among other fees. A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The council is happy to assist community groups and charities with their community events, but if the event requires a Traffic Regulation Order, renting a car park or a requirement for staff to manage the highway, then these costs must be paid for by the event organiser. This is the same for any event across the city.

“Whilst in a perfect world, we would like to provide staff and resource free of charge, unfortunately the ongoing budget position doesn’t allow us to do so. It is important to note that a similar event on private land would be significantly more expensive than the costs the council has outlined to the charity."

The event organisers claim they were given a quote of £4,946 plus VAT to hold the event in Llandaff which included a £3,000 payment for temporary traffic regulation order to close the appropriate roads to place the market stalls and other event features. Cardiff Council have stated that this quote was given after an outstanding balance was paid by the charity last week.

READ MORE: This is when a new look Cardiff Central station is hoped to be unveiled

READ MORE: 'We were having screaming, shouting, bottles thrown at 3am,' but now this Cardiff park has been transformed

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council told WalesOnline: "For the last two years, the council has helped with this event so that it could take place, and until last week we haven’t received any payment. Contact was made with the organiser to explain that no further events can take place until the outstanding payment is received.

“Following the recent payment, the council has outlined the costs for this year and has been in continual dialogue with the event organiser, outlining various scenarios and the associated costs for each. Unfortunately, the event organiser believes these costs are too high. The council would advise any community group that wishes to carry out an event such as this to get authority from the relevant departments in the council before advertising the event."

Sharon Owens added: "As joint chair of the Llandaff lights, we can't believe that Cardiff City Council would say we owed them money when we do so many events with them from May Day Carnivals, Coronation, picnics, summer fayres and Christmas lights, picnics on the green and have paid every invoice."

Cardiff Council and Calon Hearts continue to work together to organise the charities upcoming Christmas events. However the charity say they would need to find sponsor if the Llandaff Lights is to go ahead this year.

Join the WalesOnline WhatsApp community

WalesOnline has launched a new breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community. From the biggest court stories to the latest traffic updates, weather warnings and breaking news, it's a simple way to stay up to date with what's happening in Wales.

Want to join? All you have to do is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in. We will not spam your feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily.

If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'. We occasionally treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can read our Privacy Notice here.

Join our WhatsApp community here.