Douglas Council is looking for its third venue in as many years for the borough’s Christmas light switch-on event.

The event, which attracts thousands of shoppers to the island’s capital, was forced to move to the North Quay last year having previously been held outside the town hall on Ridgeway Street.

The council’s regeneration and community committee had considered a report submitted by the assistant town clerk that advised on some of the issues that arose during the council’s public events during November 2019.

Minutes from the meeting showed that ’the fire service has since indicated should the event take place in the same location in 2020, they will object to a licence being granted unless there are changes to crowd control and suitable access and egress for people can be demonstrated at all times’.

The report recommended that ’the Christmas lights ceremony does not take place in November 2020’.

However, due to the importance of the event, the councillors have decided against that and are instead seeking a new venue for 2020.

The determination for a new event location was supported by council members during the council’s January sitting.

Councillor Ian Clague said he was ’pleased’ to see the committee wanting to continue with the event due to its importance to the capital’s shops.

He added: ’The fire service is opposing North Quay site but we only went there as they objected to outside the town hall.’

His was a sentiment shared by Councillor Carol Crawley (formerly Malarkey) who said that ’it seems when we’re successful, we’re pushed back’.

However, Councillor Clare Wells suggested that the council take it as an opportunity to look at staging small events throughout the high street and ’bring the fun into the centre of the town’.

Mrs Wells’s idea was supported by council leader David Christian, who said there is ’no suitable place around this part of town’.

Mr Christian also bemoaned that the fire service were part of the safety group which forced the move to the North Quay for the 2019 event.

He added: ’They clearly don’t want it in this area. Let’s have a rethink of the whole thing and have smaller events throughout Douglas.’

Mr Christian said that once the cultural zone is completed on the promenade, it could make the ideal place for future events with its location at the end of the high street.

Committee member Councillor Raina Chatel, who was responding to the debate in the absence of chairman Councillor Stephen Pitts, said that the committee would continue to look at all alternatives.

Mrs Chatel added: ’We’re not allowed to do it at the town hall anymore, so we either need to do something different or move it elsewhere. But we all want this event to continue.’