Skipton'S Christmas lights could be taken off the High Street and put up on the housing estates.

The town council, which now has responsibility for running Skipton's Christmas lights, has threatened to leave the High Street in relative darkness because of the poor response of traders to dip into their pockets to pay for the upkeep of the display.

Instead areas such as Shortbank Road, Broughton Road or Burnside could be the main beneficiaries.

Skipton's mayor, Coun Paul English, said the people of Skipton could not be expected to continue to pay for the town's lights without backing from some of the major national chains.

"I cannot criticise our local businesses who have put their hands in their pockets very generously," said the mayor. "But there are a lot of more national concerns, particularly on the High Street, chain stores which do not make any effort at all.

"At the same time they are all too happy to leave their doors open and their cash tills ringing while it is the tax payers of Skipton who are funding the Christmas lights."

So far, of the High Street businesses, only David Goldie, Slater's, Whitaker's Chocolates and Skipton Building Society have pledged any money for the lights.

Any decision to leave the High Street in darkness and transfer lights to the estates will be made at a meeting of the town council next week.

It costs £11,000 just to maintain the lights in their existing condition and carry out safety checks. The town council has budgeted £7,000 towards the lights and an appeal to traders has brought forward a further £1,500.

But Coun English described the response by the national concerns as "pretty pathetic at best, just about non-existent".

He said that locally-based traders had built up the lights over the years and there was a case for putting up the lights in streets off the main thoroughfare where the traders had come forward.

He said that last year individuals in the Shortbank Road area had done their own campaign and produced a fantastic show which had drawn crowds of spectators.

"A lot of people think that we should encourage these people, reward them if you like, by making their great efforts even better," said Coun English.

"The lights have got better every year thanks to the work of the Chamber of Trade but I think even they were pretty fed up that they did all the work and paid all the money while the national chains wouldn't even reply to appeals," said Coun English.

"No doubt there'll be a lot of debate about which parts of the town get the lights, but I think if the people of Skipton are paying for most of it, then the people of Skipton should be the ones getting the benefit, not some fat cat businessmen too tight to cough up a few pounds."

Skipton's market traders also support the lights appeal and their spokesman Ron Knox said a donation of at least £300 would be made in the next few days. Even so he personally was not opposed to a lightless High Street.

Mr Knox said he did not know what the stall holders might think but his view was that the town council's idea might "shock" the bigger stores.

"It infuriates me. Every year they give nothing, do nothing but expect the balance sheet to get a boost from Christmas," said Mr Knox. "They contribute nothing to this town but are happy to make money off the backs of the people who do. It might just work, I wouldn't be upset."