Month: November 2025

The countdown to Christmas has well and truly begun following the Our Bury St Edmunds Christmas Lights Event this month. The magical Polar Bear and Snow Lion were huge hits and feedback from the event has been very positive. It’s lovely to see the town looking so bright after dark now and hopefully this will get everyone in the mood for Christmas shopping and festive get-togethers.

The event this year took place on St Edmund’s Day and it was good to see his flag or bunting displayed by a number of our businesses. Thanks also to the Crafty Foxes who celebrated at the event itself with a children’s workshop about St Edmund and lots wanted to have their picture taken with him and his wolf.

Meanwhile, on the same day our partners in the Dog Friendly Bury St Edmunds scheme were at an awards ceremony in London in which the UK’s most Dog Friendly Town was announced. Bury St Edmunds, which has been in the top three every year for the last three years, was the runner up. Thank you to everyone who voted for us and the recognition for our initiative is much appreciated.

The dog friendly focus continues on our new town map which has just been refreshed for the autumn and winter. They are always available at a number of places around the town including The Apex, but I know that businesses also like to stock them so do please get in touch if you’d like some for your premises.

With so much going on it’s also great to see that the three long term vacant units by Cineworld will soon all be filled and similarly the two units beside Market Thoroughfare. This clearly demonstrates how positively Bury St Edmunds is seen as a location for new businesses, which is a huge compliment considering that so many other places have rising vacancy rates.

Of course, this week we also had the Budget Statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As ever – despite all the media speculation ahead of it – the devil is always in the detail. I’m sure many businesses will have points they want to make regarding this and – as always – I am happy to listen to them and work with them to raise these matters with our MP and ask him to forward them on to the Treasury.

Finally, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the annual Our Bury St Edmunds most festive window competition. The town centre businesses really do pull out all the stops with their windows and the standard seems to get higher every year. If you are a participating business make sure to tell all your customers and social media followers to visit the Our Bury St Edmunds website and vote before December 14. It’s by public vote only and every vote really does count.

Dog-lovers have voted a Suffolk town one of the most dog friendly in the UK. At an awards ceremony in London yesterday (Thursday November 20) Bury St Edmunds was the runner up as the UK’s most dog friendly town making it the third year running that it has reached the final of the competition which is chosen by public vote.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, Mark Cordell said: “We are disappointed not to win the title but we are incredibly proud to still be one of the most dog friendly towns in the UK and we thank everyone who voted for Bury St Edmunds. With our town centre welcoming dogs in many of our businesses, it means that residents and visitors know that they can stay longer in town and don’t have to leave their four-legged member of their family at home. I would like to pass on my congratulations to Cockermouth Town who took the overall title this year.”

Bury St Edmunds has developed its own dog friendly scheme which helps visitors and residents easily identify where their canine companion is made welcome. Around 140 different businesses have signed up to the scheme meaning they can display a blue paw print logo sticker and water bowl.

Owner of doggy daycare centre Camp Tails, Jon Kay, who helped found the town’s dog friendly initiative attended the ceremony with his dog Loki. He added: “We are thrilled to be again recognised as one of the most dog friendly towns in the country for the third year in a row. Even though we didn’t quite get the top accolade this year, we know the efforts of our community have been noticed and we are all super proud of the achievement! Well done to Cockermouth Town. We will see you next year for sure!”

Bury St Edmunds Town Council is one of the partners behind the town’s dog friendly initiative. Town Clerk Jodie Budd also attended the ceremony and commented: “On behalf of Bury St Edmunds Town Council I was delighted to attend this ceremony. Unfortunately Bury St Edmunds didn’t win this year, however it is still an extremely dog friendly town to visit.”

The DogFriendly Awards recognise and reward dog friendly places and pet businesses that go the extra mile for the benefit of the UK’s 12.5 million dogs and their owners. For more information about Bury St Edmunds Dog Friendly Scheme visit www.dogfriendlybse.co.uk or watch the video on YouTube, which gives a real dog’s eye view of the town.

With just a few days to go before one of the most eagerly anticipated events in Bury St Edmunds town centre, the final touches are being made to arrangements for the Our Bury St Edmunds Christmas Lights Event on Thursday November 20.

This year, new lights will be in place to illuminate the Market Thoroughfare for the first time in several years. The free-admission event will see the town centre packed with stalls for gifts, crafts and good causes, fairground attractions and a host of festive characters to meet including Santa on his sleigh, assisted by his elves.

Other characters on the night will include the fabulous Snow Lion who was a huge hit with visitors last year and a larger-than-life Polar Bear. The Snow Queen, Ice Princess and their snowman friend will also be returning. The date is, of course, also St Edmund’s Day, which will be reflected in the event with a special wolf-themed free children’s workshop from Crafty Foxes. There will also be a chance to have a photo with St Edmund and his wolf to highlight the story of the town’s namesake saint.

The Christmas Lights Event is organised by Our Bury St Edmunds BID. Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “I know how much the people of Bury St Edmunds and all our town centre businesses look forward to seeing the Christmas decorations and with the Market Thoroughfare recently widened to connect the town centre with arc Shopping Centre I’m very pleased that we are now able to light up that walkway too. I’m especially grateful to Rougham Estates who once again have very generously provided the Christmas Trees for Angel Hill and The Traverse. We hope to see lots of people in town enjoying this free event and starting their Christmas shopping.”

All the lights in the displays use the most energy-efficient LED bulbs and the time they remain on is carefully managed to conserve energy. As in recent Christmas Lights Events the lights will start to come on as dusk falls and everyone will be able to see the illuminations appear from wherever they are in the town centre.

Throughout the afternoon and evening there will be a full programme of stage entertainment including local choirs and performances from schools and colleges. The Our Bury St Edmunds Christmas Lights Event runs from 3pm to 8pm and is supported by ShopSafe and Bury St Edmunds Town Council. More information is available at www.ourburystedmunds.com and on social media @ourburysteds.

Bury St Edmunds has made the finals of the Dog Friendly Awards 2025 in the Most Dog Friendly Town/City category.

Last year the town scooped first prize and was named the UK’s Most Dog Friendly Town.

The awards run by Dog Friendly Magazine, will take place at The Kennel Club HQ in London on November 20. The three finalists are Bury St Edmunds, Cockermouth, and Keswick.

The town has had its own Dog Friendly Bury St Edmunds scheme for the last five years to let visitors know where you can bring your four-legged pal. More than 150 businesses are signed up.

Wherever the #dogfriendlybse paw print logo sticker is displayed in windows, businesses will welcome dogs in a town-wide and beyond initiative from Bury St Edmunds Town Council, Camp Tails Doggy Daycare, Our Bury St Edmunds BID (Business Improvement District) and Bury St Edmunds and Beyond.

Dog Friendly businesses in the town centre are also marked with a blue paw on the Our Bury St Edmunds BID Town Map.

With dog-friendly accommodation, cafes and restaurants, plus attractions and days out that your pooch will love, the historic town and surrounding towns and villages are the ideal place to enjoy a short break or holiday with every member of the family – including the furry variety!

The DogFriendly Awards is an opportunity to recognise and reward dog friendly places and pet businesses that go the extra mile for the benefit of the UK’s 12.5 million dogs and their owners. Winners of the DogFriendly Awards in each of the categories are chosen by public vote.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, Mark Cordell said: “We were absolutely delighted that we won the UK’s Most Dog Friendly Town award last year and I am very pleased we are finalists this year. The town has always been an authentically dog friendly place to visit but thanks to the dog friendly scheme, started

by Jon Kay at Camp Tails Doggy Daycare and Bury St Edmunds Town Council, people can see easily and clearly which venues they can take their dog into.

“It also hasn’t escaped my notice that the winners are being announced on St Edmund’s Day this year, let’s hope that’s a good omen.”

The town now also has dog friendly film screenings at Abbeygate Cinema, dog friendly tours of the town, and even an annual dogs of the cathedral calendar for St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

To find out more about Dog Friendly Bury St Edmunds visit www.dogfriendlybse.co.uk

To find out more about the awards visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/awards