LONDON Road will not be lit up with festive lights this year because of the wrong type of lamp-post!

As towns and villages around Oxfordshire switch on their festive lights this week, Headington will not be joining them.

And business owners have blamed the recent roadworks.

Gary McGill, manager of Fusion Hairdressers, said: “The council took the lamp-posts down while all the work to London Road was being done, and now they have put them back up without the correct brackets.

“So, this year, there will be no Christmas lights in Headington.

“I think it is appalling. It is a bit of a shambles really. The roadworks caused so much disruption in the last six months and now it’s finished and looking nice, there is not going to be any sort of festive decoration. It is such a shame.”

Neil Holdstock, manager of Absolute Event Solutions and member of the Headington Business group, said: “The lights are owned by the businesses of Headington.

“They were bought many years ago and, as a general rule, someone from the businesses goes round each year and collects money to fund them being put up.”

Mr Holdstock said there were two reasons the same had not happened this year.

He said: “The first is that everyone, all the business owners, have become very disillusioned by everything in Headington, so no one has collected the money.

“But that decision was also taken on the basis that the county council, which did the roadworks, did not put back the light fittings.”

Mr Holdstock said he had an email from the council saying it would definitely be replacing the brackets, but this had not yet been done. He said: “It is very disappointing, but bureaucracy has got in the way.”

Owen Morton, a spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The county council is not responsible for arranging Christmas lights for Headington.”

But Mr Holdstock was keen to say that festive spirit was not lacking in Headington.

Shopkeepers are being encouraged to make the most of their window space and Jill Cummings, the former owner of Time and Elegance Jewellers, organised a tree, sponsored by Andrews Estate Agents.

Louisa Dean, a spokesman for Oxford City Council, said: “We have been working closely with Headington Action and local businesses on the Christmas event for Headington this year.

“The group agreed that for this year there would be a small scale Christmas event focusing on the Christmas tree and lights, and possibly carol singing.”

On Saturday, there will be a tree and lights outside Barclays bank in London Road, with carol singing from the Baptist Church members and refreshments from Waitrose.