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Search forIlluminations fail to shine for visitors
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 08:00
The five-week event, which finished at the end of October, saw paying customers tumble from 120,000 last year to 111,000 this year.
Overall the annual event recorded a £165,000 deficit to council tax payers, but borough council officers took heart from an increase in the nightly attendance of 9.6 per cent and a decrease in losses from £234,000 last year.
Councillor Louise Harrison, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: "The Illuminations this year moved from running across six weeks to five weeks. "Our weekly attendance rate rose by 9.6 per cent from 20,833 last year to 23,400 this year.
"It's clear the credit crunch and the onset of the recession have had a major impact on what we spend money on and the Illuminations have not escaped that.
"The event opened to headlines of the worst economic turbulence for 70 years with banks crashing and fears for job losses. There is no doubt this has had an effect."
Council chiefs are now putting their hopes for reversing the decline in attendance figures with a redevelopment of the Arboretum.
The park would benefit from a planned £7m restoration but the plan is dependent on a successful bid for £4.8m which been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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