Bayside Council to hire security to protect Christmas trees and decorations from vandals

A MELBOURNE council will spend thousands of dollars on security guards this year to protect its Christmas decorations from vandals.

Security guards will be hired to protect Bayside Council Christmas decorations like these at Black Rock.

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BAYSIDE Council will pay thousands of dollars for security guards to watch over Christmas trees this yuletide season.

The council will pay $3500 to a security company to patrol and monitor their trees to make sure they are not wrecked or their ornaments nicked.

Leader can confirm the guards will not be dressed in a festive uniform, such as Santa, or one of his elves.

The decision is a response to about $3000 worth of damage and loss caused by vandals and thieves to trees in Sandringham Village and Church St, Brighton last year.

In 2014, Bayside’s Christmas decorations, consisting of cardboard stars and gold tinsel, were the subject of derision and disdain, and considered by councillors and the community alike to be a festive failure.

They fixed the mess up in 2015 and 2016 with bigger and brighter displays, prominent lights and much more traditional Christmas colour.

But the new decorations were so swish, they also attracted vandals and thieves.

For 2017, as well as employing security around the tree sites, there will also be more Christmas wreathes and extra lighting as part of the $135,000 project.

These decorations came under fire in 2014 after it was revealed Bayside Council spent $150,000 on them. Picture: Valeriu Campan

At last night’s meeting Councillor James Long said they had learned from their earlier mistakes (of 2014) and massively improved their decorations — now they needed to be protected.

“It is very tempting for kids going down Church St to gather a couple of souvenirs; youth will be youth,” Cr Long said.

“We need to patrol the areas around those trees.

“I am pleased about having nightly security at our decorations.”

Councillor Laurence Evans said there had been a little vandalism, but believed people in the main did respect them.

The decorations will be at Bay and Church streets in Brighton, on Hampton St, at Black Rock clock tower, in Sandringham Village, in Martin St Gardenvale, and at the Beaumaris Concourse.

Bayside director Shiran Wickramasinghe said the extra funding would enable the council to increase the frequency of patrols and focus on known problem areas.