Bunting will continue to fly throughout St Peter Port after Ravenscroft agreed to take over responsibility from the now disbanded Town Centre Partnership.
The traditional summer decorations, which go up through the Lower Pollet, La Plaiderie, Pollet, Smith Street, High Street, Arcade, Mill Street and Fountain Street, were funded and put up by the Town Centre Partnership. Earlier this year, Ravenscroft stepped in to provide funding and people to put up the bunting after a call for help from Town Centre Partnership’s Andrew Pouteaux. But with TCP disbanding, there was no-one willing to take on the responsibility.
Now Ravenscroft has agreed that it will arrange for bunting to be put up each year and has also bought 12,500m of new bunting as some of what was used this year is past its best.
“Our High Street is the envy of many coastal towns and cities and almost every photo you see features the bunting. The Town Centre Partnership had stretched its budget to replace bunting when it was absolutely necessary but often had to make do and mend and then rely on the generosity of volunteers and Event Services to put it up each summer,” said Mr Pouteaux.
“With the disbanding of TCP, there was a very real risk that there would be no bunting next year and Town in the summer would have a very different look and feel without it. Ravenscroft already does so much to support the local community and this is a considerable commitment so it is rather overwhelming that they have not only volunteered to put it up every year going forward, but have also purchased new bunting.”
Adrian Clayton from Ravenscroft, who had been on the TCP board, said that many islanders would be simply unaware of who was responsible for the bunting.
“It’s one of those things that always happens without anyone really thinking about how it gets there and who pays for it and that it’s only down to the energy and enthusiasm of a small group of people which has made it happen year after year. Ravenscroft is proud of its Guernsey roots, our headquarters are in St Peter Port and we have nearly 80 staff based locally; even though our community support is already significant, we felt that we couldn’t let Town lose its bunting. Hopefully other businesses, who all benefit from Town being busy, will join forces with us so that we can continue to make it bright and colourful for many years to come.”
