We hate our town’s drab Christmas tree – the dim lights have just been chucked on, say residents in King’s model village
RESIDENTS in the King’s Model Village eyed the eco-friendly strings of lights on their community Christmas tree with gloomy eyes.
The 30ft fir stands tall in Queen Mother Square in Poundbury, near Dorchester, Dorset, but locals think it looks ‘miserable’.
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They were blown away by the array of solar powered lights that were ‘randomly’ hung and the lack of orbs.
And the overcast weather this festive season has only made it worse – with the few lights glowing dimly.
Harriet Moorby, who has lived in the area for years and always looks forward to the Christmas decorations, said she was “incredibly disappointed”.
“We waited for the lights to arrive and when they finally did it’s just a single string of lights that you can barely see,” said the 77-year-old.
“When visitors drive past Poundbury, Queen Mother Square can be clearly seen and right now we’re wasting a beautiful tree.
“I don’t know why the local schools weren’t contacted to create decorations as that would have been nice.
“We’re all struggling financially this year but it’s important to pull together as a community and that would have been possible if we had known in advance how bad the ad was going to be.”
Housemate Tim Limbach, 67, agreed it was a shame no nearby businesses had sponsored the exhibition and said he couldn’t understand why the organizers chose to use sun-powered lights during the winter.
“The Duchy of Cornwall is responsible for the tree and they put up some lights but I wouldn’t say it was decorated,” he added.
“The ones on the tree are solar powered and because it was so cloudy they barely light up at night.
“I tried to contact nearby Waitrose to get some lights on but they politely declined.
“As the heart of the community, it’s such a shame that it looks so miserable.”
And Richard Filer posted on social media: “Does it have lights on it? Looks like the tree was just pinned up and left behind.”
Edwina Idles, a spokeswoman for the Duchy of Cornwall estate, blamed a delivery delay for the poor show.
She added: “The lights have now been delivered and the tree will be fully decorated in the coming days.”
Poundbury is Charles’ vision of a utopian idyll where private and affordable housing mixes with boutiques, jobs and services such as the local school and medical center within walking distance.
Construction began in 1992 and it is scheduled to be completed in 2025, when it will have 2,500 homes and 6,000 residents.
The Christmas tree stands next to the Duchess of Cornwall pub, named after Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Consort.
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