Lighting up the Feast

The Steering Group have agreed to reallocate some of the City Council funding that would have been used in 2020 to deliver the event, to renew the lighting on The Broadway, include some additional lighting along Newbottle Street, and to improve the electrical infrastructure required for the event.

Made up of representatives from Sunderland City Council, Houghton Feast Trust, and community partners, the Steering Group is already working on plans for having a safe Houghton Feast in 2021.

Cllr Kevin Johnston, Chair of Houghton Feast Steering Group said "We agreed that it would be a good idea to renew some of the lighting as it had been in place for a lot of years. The replacement lighting will not only benefit Houghton Feast, but it can be used during Christmas too, meaning we get a lot of benefit from this investment.

"We continue to plan for this year's event, and we look forward to bringing our communities back together with our traditional programme. These lighting upgrades will help add something extra to our much-loved Houghton Feast."

Cllr Linda Williams, Cabinet Member for Vibrant City, adds: "We welcome being able to plan for the return of events to our city, and especially events like Houghton Feast that are steeped in the history and traditions of our vibrant city.  I'm really happy that the City Council have been able to reinvest the budget that would have been spent in 2020 directly in to Houghton, seeing a real benefit to the area."