Santa parade saved
The future of the Christmas parade has been safeguarded thanks to $35,000 in extra funding from the Christchurch City Council.
The council last year granted the Christchurch Children’s Christmas Parade Trust about $69,000, but has agreed to grant an extra $35,000 this year.
Trust chairwoman Anne Jamieson said the $104,000 in total funding meant they could hold the event this year. ‘‘It is fantastic,’’ she said. ‘‘We are incredibly excited about it. All the stress and the worry has been taken off us now.’’
The extra $35,000 was approved as part of considerations for the council’s 2017-18 annual plan.
In May, parade trustee Peter Townsend told the council that $100,000 a year was needed to keep the event afloat.
He said the trust’s biggest expense was $81,000 to rent the building where it stored its 40 floats and 1000 costumes. Each year, the trust needed to find $121,170 for rent, rates, insurance and traffic management costs to run the event, he said.
‘‘Without that support the parade will not be there after 71 years,’’ he said in May.
The council gave the event $69,000 last year, down from $97,750 for the previous three years.
The parade was run by the Hays, Haywrights and Farmers department store for its first 45 years, but Farmers pulled out 26 years ago because the parade had become too costly.
A trust was formed with representatives from the chamber of commerce, The Press, Radio Network, Farmers, The Retail Merchants Association and the council.
Townsend said in May that the trust had been trying to reduce its costs and dependence on the city council by looking for new premises to save more than $80,000 a year.
It hoped to buy the Christchurch School of Gymnastics building at QEII Park at the end of 2018.