Meet the Team Behind Hoole Christmas Lights
Hoole Christmas Lights is organised by a small volunteer-led committee, supported by local residents, businesses and community partners. Together, we help bring the festive display and annual switch-on to Hoole each year.
Meet our Joint Chairs below. If you would like to volunteer, support the event or find out more, please get in touch.
Richard Beacham
Councillor for Kingsway, Newton and Hoole Ward, Cheshire West and Chester Council
Councillor Richard Beacham represents the Kingsway, Newton and Hoole Ward on Cheshire West and Chester Council.
He is Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy and Regeneration. Richard works closely with Business Improvement Districts across West Cheshire and serves on development boards across the borough. He is a member of the Cheshire and Warrington Strategy Board and the LEP Enterprise Zone Board.
Adam Langan
Councillor for Kingsway, Newton and Hoole Ward, Cheshire West and Chester Council
I am proud that, in Newton and Hoole, we have supported community groups, secured funding for local facilities and helped residents bring ideas to life, including Crossroads Community Hub.
Across Chester, we have worked to protect and improve valued community facilities, including leisure centres, day centres and children’s centres. These places matter to local people and local communities.
How It All Began
At the end of July 1999, a small group of Hoole business people met to discuss an idea put forward by Councillor Noel McGlinchey: to bring Christmas lights to Hoole.
You could say the rest is history, but behind the lights is a wonderful community story — one built on local enthusiasm, generosity, hard work and people coming together.
Things really began to gather pace in September, when almost all of Hoole’s business owners and traders met to hear more about the financial and technical requirements involved in lighting up the area. With a fundraising target of £8,000, local businesses gave generously, both financially and through their time, ideas and enthusiasm. Fundraising events soon followed.
The people of Hoole responded with incredible generosity.
Just one week before the first Switch-On, there were still no electricity supply points in place. For anyone who has ever wondered what the small aluminium posts in the pavements of Charles Street and Faulkner Street are for — those are the electricity points installed for the lights.
Things were far from calm. Then, just two days before the Switch-On, Manweb arrived. With the big night fast approaching, there was still plenty left to organise.
When the night finally came, the weather was kind and nearly 900 people packed into Charles Street and Faulkner Street. Seeing so many people come together beneath the lights was a wonderful reward for everyone who had worked so hard to make it happen.
That first Christmas created a real spirit of co-operation across Hoole. It was a spirit that did not disappear when the decorations came down; it continued to grow, bringing businesses, residents and the wider community together.
Hoole has continued to benefit from that effort, generosity and community spirit ever since.
25 years later, we will light these streets again — and we hope you will all be there to celebrate this huge anniversary with us.
Hoole Lights Community