A review of the Town Council’s Santa Tours is underway, to enhance and improve the event ahead of Christmas Eve 2026.
A Santa Tours Sub-Committee has been established to lead the review, made up of councillors, Santa Tours volunteers and members of the public, to ensure a wide range of views are considered.
The review follows changes made to the event last year due to increasing safety concerns and logistical challenges associated with the traditional touring format. These included near misses between Santa vehicles and children and local traffic, difficulty sourcing enough volunteers and vehicles, the town’s growth, increased parked cars making narrow streets difficult to navigate, anti-social behaviour towards volunteers, and safety concerns about Santa travelling on the back of vehicles on public highways.
Following advice from the Council’s Health and Safety Advisor and insurers, changes were required to mitigate several high risks and ensure the safety of residents and volunteers.
Last year the event was adapted into a hybrid format. Santa stopped at several fixed ‘meet and greet’ locations across the town at set times, allowing families to attend the location most convenient to them. This was supplemented by a limited tour with Santa remaining in the vehicle and not stopping, alongside visits to local care homes earlier on Christmas Eve.
The fixed location meet and greet events and care home visits proved popular with attendees, volunteers and host venues. However, the touring element received negative feedback, with families disappointed that Santa could not enter cul-de-sacs or stop to engage with residents.
The review will consider what worked well last year, what did not, and explore options for improving the event for 2026.
The first meeting of the Santa Tours Sub-Committee took place on 3rd March 2026. Meeting papers can be accessed via the Council website:
Two options were discussed for the 2026 event:
Running a version of the traditional tour, using Council vehicles only, spread over several nights in the run-up to Christmas Eve; or
Maintaining and enhancing the fixed location meet and greet format on Christmas Eve, alongside care home visits, but with no touring element.
The Sub-Committee agreed that the fixed location meet and greet format should form the preferred core option. Work will now take place to explore ways of improving this model, including identifying additional and improved locations and working with community centres, churches and public houses to host events.
Further investigations will also be carried out into the feasibility of including some form of street tour on Christmas Eve, as close as possible to the traditional format, potentially in partnership with local organisations such as the Rotary Club.
A review of the event’s resourcing will also take place as part of the Council’s next budget setting process.
The Sub-Committee will meet again in April, when it is hoped firm decisions can be made on the format of the 2026 event to allow detailed planning to begin.
A public consultation will also be developed to gather residents’ views on the preferred option and to invite ideas for improving the event. Details will be widely publicised through the Council’s website, social media channels and local press.
Finally, the Council would like to thank all the volunteers, past and present, who have helped Santa bring joy to the town on Christmas Eve, as well as those serving on the Santa Tours Sub-Committee.
