Council fail to get compensation after last year's Christmas tree disappointment

Peterborough City Council’s bid to get compensation from last year’s disappointing Christmas Tree has failed, the authority as confirmed.

The Cathedral Square centre piece received a raft of criticism when it arrived in the city last year, with people claiming it had looked like it had ‘been dragged through a bush backwards’ and ‘arrived in the square already dead.’

After the criticism started to pour in, the council originally said they were considering replacing the tree, before deputy leader of the city council councillor Steve Allen said: “Our Christmas tree has now settled in Cathedral Square and has been completely dressed, meaning it looks better than when it first arrived as our leader and I predicted it would do. However, we acknowledge the tree is not of the quality we would expect and are in discussion with the supplier regarding some form of compensation.”

Today, the council said they had not received any compensation for the tree’s appearance – but the authority had changed supplier for this year’s tree.

Earlier this week residents were given a sneak peak of what this year’s tree – which was personally selected by cllr Allen – will look like after a video of the Norwegian Spruce growing in a Solihull forest was revealed.

The Christmas Lights switch on in Peterborough’s Cathedral Square will take place on Friday, November 18, with a giant, covered ice rink arriving in the city centre a week later.