Festive favourite in Hollingworth cancelled due to Covid-19

The Friends of Hollingworth had arranged for Father Christmas to tour their village, providing fun for children and adults alike - but the festive favourite has been cancelled by Tameside Council for safety reasons due to Covid-19. 

In a statement the 'friends' say they were determined that Covid would not prevent the tour in 2020, a year when everyone needed some festive cheer. 

A safe tour was planned, ensuring social distancing, and they abandoned the usual distribution of gifts and collection of donations. 

The revised plan was for Santa to simply travel through the village with a wave and some festive music.

So they say the council's intervention was therefore hugely disappointing. 

The group say the council concluded that it was “inevitable” that residents would gather and commit a “criminal offence” which “may result in attendance from the police”.

A friends' spokesman said: "This was particularly upsetting when Hollingworth people could see that Father Christmas was touring Glossop and adjoining villages on their border. 

"When Friends of Hollingworth asked why their ban was reasonable when both authorities were in Tier 3, Tameside officials were silent.

'The Hollingworth Facebook page reflected the anger of the villagers, with many pointing out the irony of being threatened with police attendance when they never saw a police officer in their village, even when they were victims of crime.

"Hollingworth children are hoping that the long arm of Tameside will not prevent Santa’s vital business on Christmas Eve, and still look forward to a Happy Christmas and a better New Year."

A Tameside Council spokesman said: “We fully appreciate how popular the Santa’s Sleigh charity procession is in Hollingworth and how frustrating it must be to see it called off.

“However, we have to put public safety first and events such as this attract large crowds that can lead to the mixing of households, resulting in an increased infection rate. That’s something we can’t risk just as we are seeing some success in bringing down the rate of Covid-19 in the borough.

“We understand the frustration of the whole Tameside community that we are unable to hold events that have been commonplace in previous years, but being careful now gives us the best chance of seeing them return in 2021.”