SHOPS and traders in Tenbury are making a major investment in making this Christmas the best ever for business.

Traders are spending more than £6,000 on new Christmas lights to help bring festive spirit to the town and get the tills ringing.

Sarah Thompson, chairman of the Chamber of Trade, says that it is about much more than just making the town look good in the run up to Christmas.

“This is the most important time of the year for many shops in the town and a good Christmas can make all the difference,” she said.

“Having the Christmas lights is very important both for attracting people into the town but also for creating the kind of atmosphere that makes people feel festive and inclined to spend money.”

Although Tenbury has a reputation for its Christmas lights Sarah Thompson says that there is no question of standing still and constant improvement is the target.

“Every year we try to bring in something new and make the town look better and brighter,” she said.

This year there will be new lights in both Cross Street and Market Street. There will also be a number of new decorations throughout the town.

But tinsel will not play a part this year as it has caused problems because of damage from high winds in the past.

Improvements over a number of years mean that most of the Christmas lights in Tenbury are now low energy LED lights which are better for the environment and also for keeping electricity costs down.

Tenbury traditionally has an extended Christmas shopping window and this year there will be some changes in a further boost to boost trade.

Switching on the lights has in the past been done on a Friday evening but this year it is being made a bigger event and will happen on Saturday, November 19.

“We are having a road closure this year so that it can be a bigger occasion and there will also be an event at The Regal,” said Sarah Thompson.

She said that planning for Christmas is a long-term project and that she and a team from the Chamber is already working on 2017 before the lights for this year have even been put up in the town.

The work each year not only involves looking at how to improve the light show but also making sure that any faulty lights are replaced.

“We meet the supplier in the summer and explain what we want to do and they go away and tell us what is practical and what it will cost,” added Sarah Thompson.

Throughout the year there are fund raising activities to bring in the money that is needed.

“Just to stand still we need to be able to raise about £5,500 each year,” Sarah Thompson added.

This year will be the last for shops in the town before the new Tesco store opens next year and some traders are fearful for the future.

They are also concerned that work on the construction of the new store may disrupt the Christmas shopping period.