Christmas Festival will be bigger and better!

So many people were drawn to the town centre by the recent parade and street entertainment that there are hopes the festival can be made an annual event.

Plans for something bigger and better next year are already being discussed.

The festival was commissioned by Bexhill Regeneration Partnership s town centre and tourism action group and organised on its behalf by Bexhill Promotions Group.

Delighted action group chairman Steve Ayres said this week: "I shall definitely be recommending that we do it again next year.

"My personal congratulations go to Bexhill Promotions Group who, bearing in mind that they had a relatively short lead-time of a couple of months to plan and organise it, did fantastically well.

"It would be my wish that we able to give them a much longer lead time next year.

He said one matter of concern to be discussed immediately after Christmas was the much-criticised absence of festive lights from most streets.

Costs and the apathy of traders have been balmed. The success of the festival spotlights the way an enhanced Bexhill seafront could become an open-air theatre says an equally delighted Rother council leader, Cllr Graham Gubby.

He said: "I was there all day and despite the weather people s spirits were high. It shows we can actually make use of the seafront for positive ends.

"Rather like the Summertime Arts event, it really brought the seafront alive.

"It shows that we have features in the town that we can actually use to our advantage and we can put on displays and we can put on live arts shows and festivals.

"I would hope that these types of events are seen to be the sort of things that we can do when we re-develop the seafront and we create if you like a theatre for activities and fun but also bring income into the town.

"We are determined to put on a quality festival next year.