A CHIRK councillor is looking at the possibility of recreating a light festival in the town which took place two years ago.

Councillor Gareth Baines is looking to bring the Chirk Aqueduct and Viaduct light festival to town again – an event which was very well-received when it took place in October 2019.

After proving to be a big hit with locals, as well as tourists, Cllr Baines believes it would be a good initiative to help with boosting the local economy.

He said: "We know from the figures we had last time that the three-week festival saw record numbers of visitors coming into Chirk.

"It's basically to extend the end of the tourist season here and in the surrounding area.

"We normally have a cliff-edge September where bookings for hire boats, camping sites and the caravan park kind of drop off.

"The idea is to encourage tourists to come and visit us in later months, but also – it's for the community of Chirk as well because a lot of people here enjoyed it so much last time.

"It's good to support the local economy here in Chirk."

Last time round, the event was held to mark 10 years of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and 11-mile corridor of the Llangollen Canal becoming a World Heritage Site.

With travel overseas likely to remain restricted for some time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more people are expected to opt for a 'staycation' in the next 12 months, something which Cllr Baines believes could be beneficial for areas like Chirk.

He said: "This year and next, there is expected to be a record number of staycations and people spending their summers in the UK, so it's something extra to encourage people to have a night away or to even pay a visit to Chirk for the day.

"If people go to visit one of the pubs in town, or a restaurant or takeaway on their way home, then at least it is some support for the economy.

"We'd all agree, after the last 14 or 15 months, the economy needs us to pull everything we can out of the bag to give our businesses and residents some economic support and initiative."

The councillor insists he has already started to set the wheels in motion by looking at plans for the event to go ahead later this year.

"We have had the conversation with some of the lighting contractors," he said.

"While the light festival last time was organised by Wrexham Council, the lighting company and the security firm came from Bristol.

"It's hoped this time, given that we've got guys locally who have lit up local landmarks, it's hoped that if it does come to fruition we will set out to do what we say by supporting local businesses first."