Overview:
Each year Marlborough Highways supports Hackney Council with the installation and maintenance of the borough’s Christmas lights. Meticulous planning is required, with a much-loved annual switch-on ceremony officially kicking off the borough’s festive calendar of events. After two Christmas’s fraught with Covid restrictions, it was vital that the 2022 illuminations looked fantastic.
(Images courtesy of Sean Pollock/Hackney Council)
The Challenge
With the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, and the country only just emerging from the pandemic, Hackney Council wanted the borough’s 2022 Christmas illuminations to be the best yet. Not only was it important to bring festive cheer to residents, but a good display would ensure strong footfall for the recovering retail and hospitality sectors. The lights across Hackney needed to be turned on simultaneously, with a high-profile ‘switch-on ceremony’ taking place in the busy square in front of Hackney Town Hall on the first Sunday in December. Marlborough was tasked with not only project managing the installation and upkeep of the illuminations, but was also asked to support the organisation of the civic event and the putting up of the borough’s centrepiece Christmas tree.
The Solution
In partnership with the electrical specialists EML and Gala Lighting, Marlborough installed approximately 300 display columns over a two-week period as well as the spectacular Town Hall Christmas tree. Teams worked quickly to set up a variety of lighting features in streets and public realm spaces across the borough, combining a mix of colours, patterns, and festive designs. Opting for low power, high-performance LED lighting solutions, the installations combined energy efficiency while creating a bright and beautiful glow. Throughout the process, important equipment checks were carried out by qualified operatives, who used their expertise to ensure displays were safe, secure, and resilient to the wet, cold, and windy weather conditions.
The free, family-friendly switch on event included live music from Pantonic Steel Orchestra, the Hackney Empire Community Choir and singer Nina Hudson, who performed carols and other festive favourites. At 4pm hundreds of residents gathered around the Town Hall Christmas Tree to watch Speaker Cllr Humaira Garasia lead the countdown. The proceedings had to be timed perfectly, with Marlborough’s lighting team ensuring that the Christmas displays lit up simultaneously throughout Hackney. In the weeks that followed, the illuminations were maintained, and repairs carried out when necessary, before the lights were swiftly removed and safely stored at the end of the holiday season.
Fact File
Client: Hackney Council
Date: December 2022
Duration: Six weeks
Value: £100,000
Project
- Installation of approximately 300 lighting columns throughout the borough
- Installation of the Town Hall Christmas Tree and illuminations
- Maintenance of lights throughout the period and dealing with associated faults
- Assisting with the organisation of the annual ‘switch on’ ceremony
- Removal of the lighting features at the end of the festive period
Team
- 1 Project Manager
- 1 Supervisor
- 2 Electricians
- 5 Operatives
Client savings
- As Hackney Council’s principal highways contractor, Marlborough has excellent knowledge of the borough’s civic spaces and had previous experience of installing the Christmas illuminations.
- Energy efficient lighting was chosen, which is better for the environment and reduced Council costs.
Quotes from client
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the tree and the lights and for them being switched on at the right moment. It went perfectly.”
Olga Vandenbergh, Cultural Development Manager, Hackney Council
“The Christmas lights are looking great this year, as good as some of the ones I saw in the city. Please pass my thanks on to the team.”
Maryann Allen, Sustainable Transport Manager, Hackney Council
“We have received lots of positive comments about the switch-on ceremony and I am impressed with how good they look. Well done!”
Quaysoor Miah, Group Engineer, Hackney Council
“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
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