THE town council will give an annual donation of £1,000 towards the Christmas lights as long as they are extended into The Parade and the lower part of Kingsbury Street.

On Monday members of the town council finance and general purposes committee supported chairman Coun Joan Evans said the council should be contributing towards the lights.

The committee agreed to recommend the full council which meets on Monday October 30 to give the donation which the chamber of commerce has said is vital if the Christmas lighting in Marlborough is to continue.

Three weeks ago the Gazette reported that this year's lights were in jeopardy unless the chamber could raise money towards the £5,000 they cost to put up and replace annually. High Street solicitors Merrimans stepped in with a £1,000 donation to tide the chamber over this year.

Coun Margaret Boulton said a £1,000 donation from the council precept equated to 15p per head of the population which she thought residents would be quite happy to accept.

Deputy Mayor Stewart Dobson said the public should be asked if they wanted the council to support the Christmas lights at next April's annual parish meeting. He suggested the lights should be extended into The Parade and the Kingsbury Street trading area.

However Coun Ian Perryman voiced a note of caution and said he was not sure that the district auditor would permit the council to give money for this purpose.

Coun David Watson commented: "If this council decides to take the money out of its reserves I very much doubt if the auditor would tell us we were doing wrong."

Mayor Maurice Cooper said he would be happy for the council to make a regular contribution towards the lights.

Coun Watson, chairman of the recreation and amenities committee, was not sure that the council should commit itself to giving £1,000 a year.

He would prefer to see a new allocation each year.

Coun Watson said it was too late for the council to help the chamber this year. "For this year we have rather burned our boats but Merrimans have pulled us out of the fire."

Coun Evans said the Merrimans donation was extremely generous and ensured there would be lights this Christmas but she said the chamber still wanted a donation from the council which would be put towards extending the lights.

Three members of the chamber of commerce committee, vice-president Kevin Ellis, lighting committee chairman Philip Marsh and Philip Kearley listened to the debate and were delighted when the committee voted to recommend they should get £1,000 a year towards the lights.

After the meeting Mr Marsh, a former chamber president, said: "The tenacity of the chamber of commerce has finally paid off and if the committee's recommendation is followed through and the council gives us £1,000 a year we will be delighted."

Mr Marsh said the lights would be extended into Hughenden Yard this year and probably into The Parade next year.