A CHRISTMAS festival costing £40,000 has been given the green light - the first of many that will twinkle in Barnard Castle this Yuletide.

Final approval for the funding was granted this week after a period of nail-biting uncertainty saw months of planning and fundraising come to fruition.

Plans for the festival include dramatic laser displays projected on to the castle walls, a town-wide lantern procession, traditional carol singing in the town centre, 30 extra Christmas trees and hundreds of additional coloured lights.

The decision to try to stage the ambitious festival was taken earlier this year following criticism of last year's lights display, described by some residents as "dismal" and "letting the town down".

The town council, which has only limited funding to spend on a lighting display, liaised with Teesdale Marketing, the trading arm of the business development group, to try to improve things this year.

Teesdale Marketing chairman Bill Oldfield, who owns Oldfield's restaurant in the town, said: "It is really encouraging that so many people, including the funding bodies, have been prepared to put their hearts and souls into this project.

"There has been an enormous amount of work behind the scenes to make this what we hope will be a spectacular Christmas for Barnard Castle traders, townsfolk and visitors."

He paid particular tribute to project co-ordinator Jill Cole, whom he said had put hundreds of hours into making the project work, with no guarantee of payment if it had not gone ahead.

Apart from additional money from Barnard Castle Town Council for lights, other financial aid has come from Northern Arts lottery funds, Barclays' rural regeneration fund, the County Durham foundation, Teesdale District Council and the rural development partnership of One North-East.

Teesdale Marketing company secretary Chris Dauber, of Anthony Nixon Furniture, said: "I am relieved that the funders have rewarded the efforts of all those involved. So much has gone into this over such a long period of time and it is very gratifying to see it all come together."

Coun Margaret Hamilton, the mayor of Barnard Castle, said it would bring a lot of goodwill into the area.

"The town has seen nothing like this before. It will be a joyful event after what has been a difficult year in Teesdale," she added.

The festival will be launched on Friday, November 30, with the switching on of the Christmas lights and carol singing. Festivities will continue each weekend until Christmas, with the first of the laser shows taking place on December 15.

Further details will appear in the D&S Times in due course.