New Milton Advertiser 4th Dec 2020

20 · Friday, 4th December, 2019

email: news@adt.press / advertising@adt.press · tel: 01425 613384

N ew Milton Town Council Spokesperson Theresa El - liott said: “Every year our Christmas lights display brings new challenges, and this year was no exception. Given the rather strange year it has been for everyone, we felt having fes - tive lights was more important than ever.” As the town council also pre - sides over the shopping areas of Ashley, Old Milton and Barton it had hoped to expand on the dis- play in Ashley but had difficulty in securing the extra investment needed after fundraising events had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. Ms Elliott continued: “We had to seek a new installation con - tractor in October which was unfortunate, owing to further licence restrictions, but we man - aged to secure a one-year con - tract with specialist company Sparkx who have completed the majority of works. They had lim - ited capacity, but thankfully were able to install our display before the end of November after Lym - ington.” The town council also contin - ued to use the services of New Milton based electrical instal - lations company ATech, whose installation engineers were able to assist with new connection works.

As dusk falls the town centre is illuminated with tens of thousands of twinkling lights adding to the vibrant festive atmosphere. Erected and arranged by New Milton Town Council, this year the festive illuminations have been supported with sponsorship from several local businesses and community groups including Hoburne Bashley, Pennyfarthing Homes, ATech Limited, Double H Nurseries and New Milton Residents Association.

Theresa said: “We thank both companies for working closely together and making the display happen, acknowledging A-Tech’s willingness to assist the Sparkx team with a few technical questions!

“Given the extraordinary year it has been for everyone, we were very happy indeed to re - ceive new support from Kimbers Carpets who have sponsored lights in the tree nearest their town centre shop, plus Sham - rock Care Services and Raise the Roots have sponsored a new cut tree installation near the Barton Obelisk which we hope will bring some cheer to the cliff top.”

A lthough it has been a difficult year for businesses – and par- ticularly small independent traders, research shows that the pan - demic has raised awareness of the importance’s of shopping local and supporting our town centres. As supermarkets struggled to cope with increased demand for online shopping in the early days of the pandemic it was the small inde - pendent retailers that stepped up to support their communities with local delivery schemes, bespoke ordering and click and collect services. This renewed enthusiasm for the High Street and a more traditional shopping experiences is clearly illus - trated by the recent launch of a tradi - tional style fruit and vegetable shop – Raise the Roots – in Whitefield Road. Despite opening in the midst of a national lockdown, co-owner Dean Samber reports that businesses has been brisk and the community has been incredibly supportive of the new venture.

With all non-essential shops now giv - en the green light to re-open with all necessary social distancing measures in place, many people and now choosing to turn their back on internet shopping and head back to the High Street to select the perfect festive gifts for their nearest and deadest. As well as avoiding costly postage charges and the need to wait in at home for parcels to be delivered, savvy shop - pers are also realising that some of best bargains can still be found in town cen - tre shops. Small local shops are also far more likely to offer unique and special gifts and stock a range of merchandise that have been especially chosen to appeal to local people.

Electrical Contractors Intruder Alarms• CCTV Installers

Traditional Nursery in the centre of the village Lots of cut and potted Christmas Trees in stock Fresh Cut LOCAL English Trees

Atech wishes all its customers and suppliers a Merry Christmas and prosperous 2021 Belvedere Rear Building, Christchurch Road, NewMilton BH25 6QB 01425 627422 WWW.ATECH-UK.CO.UK

HollyWreaths Poinsettia Christmas Planted Bowls Mistletoe Bird Tables 01425 612442 Bashley Common Road, Bashley, New Milton

We would like to wish our customers a very Merry Christmas and a healthy

We expres gratitude t those belo wh have sponsored part of displa

LARGE STREET TREE LIGHTS

Hoburne Bashley Holiday Park Double H Nurseries Ltd

Pennyfarthing Homes ATECH UK LTD

New Milton Residents Association

and happy New Year

NORWAY SPRUCE LARGE CUT TREES Shamrock Care Services & Raise the Roots Lions Club of New Milton

SMALL STREET TREE LIGHTS

Bradbeers Charles Nobel Dixon Stewart

New Forest Stationers New Milton Foot Clinic NMS New Milton Pharmacy Station Financial Roger Murray Hair Stylists New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times Weldon & King

Fagans Menswear Forest Edge Café GD Print Hardys Eletrical Kimbers Carpets

Designing and supplying quality Bathrooms in the area for over 30 years.

147-151 Old Milton Road, New Milton BH25 6DS www.coastalbathrooms.co.uk 01425 620866

Suppliers of Villeroy & Boch, victoria + albert, Keuco and more...