As you come into Fairfield Park, you will have noticed a large tree on the roundabout. It is beautiful, and several people have suggested it would be great to light it for Christmas. This is a brilliant idea – until you start investigating the practicalities: there is no electricity to the roundabout!

When Fairfield Parish Council (FPC) investigated recently, it turned out that even though the roundabout has lights on it, the lights have never worked: they were never connected to the grid. After studying maps and scanning the area with ground penetrating radar, it is clear that no cables were even laid to the roundabout. For whatever reason, when the village was built the developers just appeared to skip it. 

Going forward, the only option would be to run cables from a pavement across the road and onto the roundabout. As you can imagine this would be a big job, needing traffic lights and other measures to dig across the road. A quote for this work shows we are looking at nearly £9K, and that’s before factoring in the cost of the lights themselves.

When this quote was reported to FPC, the council was divided: all are in agreement that lights would look great, but not all agreed that the cost is justified! So, the question is: Does the whole of Fairfield want the council (i.e. us) to bear the expense of lighting the roundabout tree, when Fairfield is so much more than the Park? Do residents in Fairfield Hall, Middlemarch, Fairfield Gardens, Lydgate Fields and other areas, who rarely pass this roundabout, think this is a good use of our communal funds?

The Urban Park, also technically in Fairfield Park, is recognised by most people as the centre and hub of Fairfield. It is opposite the little commercial area that we have. It accommodates the various street food outlets that have become such a welcome part of Fairfield’s week and is a natural focal point for outdoor community events.

For several years now, the Parish Council has been lighting the lamp posts and the tree in the middle of the Urban Park at Christmas, recognising this area as the centre of Fairfield village. But should the roundabout tree be lit as well? Get in touch with Fairfield Parish Council and let them know what you think!