Letter to Residents

Everyone in the High Street must be notified of the date of the High Street closure at least 4 weeks in advance.

We produce a letter which is hand delivered to all those addresses that have public letter boxes and posted to those flats which do not have accessible letterboxes.

We need about 120 copies for all the addresses in Sittingbourne High Street, which is higher than one might expect because there are lots of hidden flats.

An example letter is as follows, which currently fits on one side of A4 paper:

From the Volunteers of the Sittingbourne Christmas Lights and Sleigh Rounds community group
Dear Resident/Business Owner,
IMPORTANT ADVANCE INFORMATION OF ROAD CLOSURE.
Saturday 15th November 2025 6am – 8pm.
Sittingbourne Christmas Lights Switch On & All-Day Christmas Market.
This letter is to advise you in advance of the event in the High Street and lower part of Central Avenue, within the approved road closure area.
For safety reasons, it will not be possible to permit delivery vehicles into the road closure area so please make alternative arrangements if this will affect you. There will be no access for non-event vehicles and pedal cycles for the entire length of the road closure. This includes the lower end of the High Street. A large number of stalls are booked, which are expected to fill the entire length of the High Street so it will not be possible to move vehicles along the road if you have left them within the event boundary. If you need your vehicle before 8.00pm, please park elsewhere. We hope that the day will be one of enjoyment for residents and those in local businesses alike, and that it is a day of prosperous trading for High Street and Central Avenue-based businesses.
To allow for the safety of all involved, plus setting up and clearing away, the usual Saturday road closure has been extended. The area closed is as follows:
High Street – from the junction with Station Street to the junction with Bell Road.
Central Avenue – from the road closure barrier by the roundabout to the junction with High Street.
Nellie’s Alley – from the car park boundary to the junction with High Street.
Time of closure:
6am – 8pm Saturday 15th November 2025.
The event is covered by a road closure order, issued by Swale Borough Council, under Section 21 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. We will provide a copy of the closure order upon request.
Approximate timetable for the day:
6am Road closure comes into force and fairground is expected to arrive.
7am Stallholders will start arriving, along with staging etc.
10am Market opens
11am Entertainment begins
5pm Switch On
8.00pm Road closure ends.
Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times however, please be mindful that during the setting up and packing away period, there may be heavy machinery such as fairground rides being moved around, and slow-moving vehicles dropping off and collecting stalls.
If you have any questions or comments about the closure or day, please feel free to contact us at sittingbournechristmaslights@gmail.com or via our Facebook page, ‘Sittingbourne Christmas Lights and Sleigh Rounds’.
We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation during this special day and hope you enjoy it.
Yours faithfully, (Insert name), Chair, Sittingbourne Christmas Lights & Sleigh Rounds