Cllr Devon Claxton (Green), Tregolls Ward

This is the first time I have written for the Voice, so I will start by introducing myself. I was elected uncontested to Truro City Council in May at the age of 18, and I want to make Truro a better place especially for small businesses, young people and people on lower incomes. I can be contacted at [email protected]

Something I want to see, like most people across Truro, is the return of the City of Lights Parade. It was a staple of Truro’s culture and provided a fun opportunity to the youth of the city. However, it’s apparent that this event is no longer viable, or at least not in the way that it used to be run.

For a start, the event was incredibly expensive, with the last one costing £40,000. Once inflation is taken into account, as well as the need for protection from potential vehicle attacks like those seen recently in Liverpool and Munich, this will be an even larger figure.

Hosting the parade would likely involve a larger contribution from the people of Truro, taking the form of either more donations or an increase in Truro City Council’s precept. Either way, this is money many people just don’t have.

However, there is still hope for the City of Lights. We are looking at potentially resurrecting it, not as a parade but as a trail of lights in shop windows. This will support local businesses, provide better value for money and will be spread out across several weeks, meaning that there is plenty of time to experience it - unlike a parade which was often postponed or cancelled due to bad weather.

It would also be accessible to lower income families, who may not be able to afford to attend similar events at Heligan or Trelissick. Indeed, there used to be a similar event in Victoria Gardens, but this was no longer tenable due to health and safety issues.

We could also do a parade in summer, making up for both a lack of parades and events during that season.

In conclusion, an event like this would be most beneficial for people and businesses in Truro. It has been done successfully in towns across the UK, and while it may be a bit different from the City of Lights in the past, a changed City of Lights is better than no City of Lights.