11 December 2006 00:00 Central Networks lights up Leicestershire communities for Christmas

The parish of Gilmorton will be celebrating a brighter Christmas this year thanks to local electricity distribution company Central Networks.

Parish council officials in Gilmorton received a £1,000 grant from the company, which is part of E.ON UK, for replacement Christmas lights to decorate the centre of their village and local school.

Central Networks offered a total fund of £35,000 to parish councils across central England to light up communities, receiving almost 300 applications to the competition.

Central Networks Customer Operations Manager Phil Wilson said: “The spirit of Christmas is obviously very much alive within our region’s parishes and it’s great to be able to spread some cheer through our Christmas lights and decorations fund.

“We were really impressed with all the entries but Gilmorton’s really stood out. It was clear that there was a real community spirit at Christmas time and that the money would really make a difference.”

Gilmorton Parish Council’s Clerk Mrs L Smith said: “We’re absolutely delighted. With Central Networks’ help we will be able to decorate the local school without relying on local residents for donations. Our community will be able to enjoy these light year after year now.”

The company, which serves 4.9 million customers across central England, launched the competition for the first time last year. After the success of the first campaign, Central Networks offered an extra £10,000 this time around to benefit even more parishes.

Ends

Notes to editors:
• Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity and is a company of E.ON UK. The company brings power to 4.9 million customers across the East and West Midlands through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables and via almost 97,000 substations;
• Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.

For further information contact:
Ellie King on 02476 183678
Rebecca Middleton 02476 183677
Out of hours, call 024 7642 4000 and ask for the duty press officer