A CHRISTMAS lights committee has come under fire after allotting a third of a £15,000 grant on a consultant.

Northallerton Town Council's illuminations committee has been criticised after recommending a scheme which will spend £15,000 on lighting one wall of the town hall and a consultant's fee.

They have sanctioned plans to replace the town hall's old bulbs with permanent LED lighting using cash from two community funds, which will go before the full council next week.

The lights are better for the environment; eradicate the expense of hiring companies to put up and take down temporary lights each year; and can also be used for any occasion.

But they will cost £10,000 to install on just one wall of the town hall, with the other £5,000 to be spent on a consultant.

Ken Archer, Northallerton resident, said the committee's decision to use a third of the grant on a consultant was a waste.

"I would estimate that building is 50ft wide and ten feet high," he said. "That's about £20 a square foot to put lights on the front of the town hall. To me, that is a complete waste of money. It is wrong. I was told that to cover the whole of the town hall would cost £25,000.

"£10,000 is ridiculous. The street lights are only costing £6,000 to put up and take down for every column we have lights on. Here we have a grant for £15,000, which has been hijacked for the town hall."

But David Blades, chairman of the illuminations committee, said the consultant's fee was value for money when everything that is being planned for the town centre was taken into account.

"People must not jump to conclusions. The consultant's fee is not just for the lights. It is for a whole scheme. We have got to start somewhere. The first stage was the lighting. Some people have done their homework, but got their sums wrong. They should look at the whole picture.

"It gives a wrong picture of the fees being charged."

The scheme will go before the full council on Monday.