Residents in King Charles’ model town have taken a dim view of the eco-friendly solar-powered fairy lights that have left their community Christmas tree looking “miserable”.
The 30ft tall tree in Crown Square in Poundbury, near Dorchester, Dorset, has left locals underwhelmed after a string of solar lights was hung on it in a haphazard fashion with no other decorations.
The lights are part of the town council’s commitment to tackle climate change, but the recent gloomy weather has meant the tree is dimly lit.
Harriet Moorby, 77, has lived in the area for years and always looks forward to the Christmas decorations.
She said: “I’m just incredibly disappointed really. 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. At the moment we’re wasting a beautiful tree.
“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’d known in advance how poor the display would be.”
Poundbury is an experimental planned community on the western outskirts of Dorchester.
The development is led by the Duchy of Cornwall and had the keen endorsement of King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.
Building work began in 1992 and is due for completion in 2025 when it will have 2,500 homes and a population of around 6,000.
Tim Limbach, 67, said how disappointing it was that no nearby businesses had sponsored the tree and he could not understand why the lights that have been put up are solar-powered.
He added: “The Duchy of Cornwall is responsible for the tree and they have put up some lights but I wouldn’t say it was decorated.
“The ones that are on the tree are solar powered and because it has been so cloudy they barely light up on an evening.
“As the centrepiece of the community it is such a shame it looks so miserable.”
Edwina Iddles, a spokeswoman for the Duchy of Cornwall estate, said: “Sadly there was a delay in the delivery of some of the lights for the tree.
“The lights have now been delivered and the tree will be fully decorated over the coming days.”
Susan Hosford, a member of Dorchester Town Council, said: “The Duchy and town council have both made strong climate change commitments, hence the solar-powered lights.
“The use of sustainable energy is to be encouraged. We’re all going to have to adapt our ideas.
“When you make commitments to tackle climate change you have to walk the walk, otherwise it’s pointless. We’re all going to have to change our ideas about lots of things, such as sustainable lights and environmental wrapping paper.”
Eco lights are not thought to have been used in previous years on the Poundbury Christmas tree, but are in keeping with King Charles's strong views on environmental issues.
Councillor Richard Biggs said the main issue was that the tree this year had been moved to Crown Square, a principal location in Poundbury.
He said the use of low-energy bulbs was “not really an excuse” for the dim lights, but admitted there has been a move in recent years to “go away from big gaudy ones”.
“Crown Square is a roundabout so we’ve got to be careful about the visibility, it can’t be too big.”
However, he said the issue had “not made a big stir in the community” and the main part of Dorchester was brightly illuminated.
