New bunting in Town, thanks to Ravenscroft

The decorations used to be the responsibility of the Town Centre Partnership, but with the group disbanding Ravenscroft has taken over.

The new 12,500m of bunting, including the cost of the cherry picker to put it up next year, came in at £9,000.

The bunting will be on display through the Lower Pollet, La Plaiderie, Pollet, Smith Street, High Street, Arcade, Mill Street and Fountain Street. It will go up after Easter and be taken down in September.

If taken care of, it should last 10 years.

The old bunting was in a very poor state and volunteers spent a lot of time tying pieces together this year to make it work.

Andrew Pouteaux, from the TCP, welcomed the new decorations.

‘Our High Street is the envy of many coastal towns and cities and almost every photo you see features the bunting,’ he said.

‘The Town Centre Partnership had stretched its budget to replace bunting when it was absolutely necessary but often had to make do and mend and then rely on the generosity of volunteers and Event Services to put it up each summer.

‘With the disbanding of TCP, there was a very real risk that there would be no bunting next year and Town in the summer would have a very different look and feel without it.’

Adrian Clayton from Ravenscroft, who had been on the TCP board, said many islanders were unaware of who was responsible for the bunting.

‘It’s one of those things that always happens without anyone really thinking about how it gets there and who pays for it and it’s only the energy and enthusiasm of a small group of people which has made it happen year after year,’ he said.

‘Ravenscroft is proud of its Guernsey roots. Our headquarters are in St Peter Port and we have nearly 80 staff based locally. Even though our community support is already significant, we felt that we couldn’t let Town lose its bunting.

‘Hopefully other businesses, who all benefit from Town being busy, will join forces with us so that we can continue to make it bright and colourful for many years to come.’

The old bunting is being taken on by the Guernsey Arts Commission to use at events.