13 Jan Town celebrates Christmas and community
How Huyton Village went from having the worst Christmas tree to a huge Christmas light switch on.
Huyton Village went from being mocked for the ‘worst Christmas tree of the year’ (over many years) to 2,500+ people turning out for a Christmas light switch-on, When we frequently hear ‘there’s no shops, there’s nothing in [place] worth visiting for, I can buy it online’ is too simplistic. People still want a human connection but it comes in different formats than how we used to shop and the events in the build up to Christmas in Huyton show that.
Christmas lights and celebrations are becoming increasingly difficult for councils to support due to budget pressures meaning that in places like Huyton, there has to be a different approach to raising money, engaging businesses and ensuring people turn-up.
Huyton Village, in Knowsley, near Liverpool provides a functional town centre offer with a wide ranging hospitality offer and evening economy. Despite this, footfall has been declining in line with national trends and there are concerns that, once a major redevelopment project starts, this will decline further.
Working with oneday in Huyton, we saw the results of bringing people to together and strengthening community.
Back in October, a concept was developed for Christmas in the village. Conversations took place regularly with business owners to get them onboard while there was a local call out to community groups to get involved, led by a local resident and business owner who had a great contact list. A marketing campaign ran across social media and a business WhatsApp group kept everyone up to date with the plans.
The objectives were to:
- Bring the community together and celebrate Christmas
- Strengthen relationships: Develop meaningful partnerships between local businesses and residents
- Create vibrancy: Add life and energy to the village through engaging, inclusive activities
- Provide new reasons to visit Huyton and drive trade for businesses
In November, a stage was set-up, a Christmas tree erected and lights through the village. The four hour switch-on event brought Christmas to life with live singing, dancing, entertainers and even a visit from Mr & Mrs Claus and attracted a multi-generational crowd.
Wider activities
- Elf Trail – a fun, family-friendly activity encouraging visitors to explore the village by finding elves in business windows boosted footfall and engagement with 20 participating businesses
- Online Christmas Countdown Campaign featured 12 businesses
- Pop-up shops operated and Christmas Markets were booked (but cancelled due to weather)
- Joint promotion of events and in store activities, and offers
Who took part
2500 attended the switch-on
Over 30 local groups
22 local businesses
3 local choirs
3 local kids dance groups
3 charities
Many engaged via social media, WhatsApp and in person
The results
- Established working group of businesses and restored confidence
Strengthened relationships and collaboration between businesses and the local community - Sparked enthusiasm for future events
Enhanced experience and encouraged people to rediscover Huyton as a destination - Gained local and regional media coverage from Visit Liverpool, Liverpool Echo and BBC North West Tonight while social media campaign highlights saw 65,000 views in the build up to the event and a 700% increase in followers across Huyton Village Green channels
The team found that people wanted to use and support the Village and stay local. If they knew about things that were happening, they were keen to support them.
What’s next
Work didn’t stop at Christmas, this was the starting point and ongoing plans include:
- Launching a neighbourhood card encouraging them to use and promote each other
- Relaunching the retail area in Huyton Village Green, providing shop space to local makers and businesses who might not be able to access this elsewhere
- Setting meeting dates for newly established Events Steering Group
- Continuing to build community with local businesses, groups and charities to create offers, news and other info
- Developing an annual marketing and events programme
- Linking with meanwhile uses, engagement and social value plans as the town centre redevelopment programme gets underway
The project was delivered by the oneday team who operate nearby Bowring Park and Golf Course and Huyton popup shop Village Green with town centre activation consultancy from The Assembly Line. We are looking forward to continuing to work with oneday to build their relationship with Knowsley Council.
