Tamworth Regional Council: no Christmas tree for Manilla as former mayor Cheryl Randall calls the council bah-humbugs

Former Manilla mayor Cheryl Randall has put the council at the top of her naughty list after it refused to provide a Christmas tree for the town hall this year.

For the last two decades, Mrs Randall and her husband Bill have provided the Christmas tree, decorations and carols to lift spirits.

"I religiously put the tree up on December 1, we would tizzy it up and it was nearly a 20-year-old tree, it was starting to look tacky so I asked if we could get some money in the budget for a new tree," she said.

"Eventually the council got back to me and said there will be no Christmas tree this year but it's been added for next year for consultation with the other smaller communities - that's just BS.

"I'm very upset, I'm actually gutted that for the first time in 20 years there will be no Christmas tree in Manilla, they're bah-humbugs.

"It might seem trivial with the world and the way things are, but now is the time that we need to look forward to these small celebrations and bringing the community together."

It comes as Tamworth gears up for the silly season, with the official lighting of the Christmas tree at the start of December and a series of micro-events at Fitzroy Plaza.

As the major centre in the region and the commercial hub, there has been a long tradition of having a tree in Tamworth's CBD, a TRC spokeswoman said.

"The council considered funds for this popular event each year as part of its community event program," she said.

"Council recognises that each of the towns and villages outside of Tamworth in the region are equally deserving of funding opportunities like these, and for this reason, plans are in place to engage with the relevant communities in 2022."

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Mrs Randall, who now lives in Yamba, spent her own time sourcing second-hand commercial Christmas trees at a discounted price to help TRC spread cheer.

When formal budget submissions opened last year, she applied for money for a tree and the man-hours for council staff to put it up and take it down, but was told there would not be money put aside to deck the halls.

"Are they frightened if they say that Manilla gets a tree, Barraba and Nundle will want one?

"Council are missing an opportunity to turn a proper request through the proper channels into a learning opportunity for how to get things for your community."

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