There is a gloomy Christmas ahead for many high streets because their traditional illuminations have been by curtailed by health and safety rules. The Federation of Small Businesses says that they are making insurance premiums too expensive for councils and traders.

Insurers insist on strict adherence to health and safety guidelines, which require councils to use expensive specialist equipment to test the safety of light fittings. Council workers can no longer use ladders to put up lights and have to hire hydraulic platforms.

Every light fitting must also undergo a “pull test” using specialist equipment to make sure it is strong enough. Lampposts have also been deemed unsafe for hanging illuminations.

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The festive period is looking darker and bleaker year on year – Britain is facing a Christmas blackout this year.The sense of pride a good festive display can instil on a town centre is immeasurable. Spiralling costs and exhaustive safety concerns are ruining the festive spirit.”

Traders in Clevedon, near Bristol, have been forced to scrap their illuminations after they spent a year raising £3,000. They have been told by North Somerset Council that lights can no longer be attached to lampposts or buildings.

Bob Hughes, of local traders’ association, said: “The rules and regulations regarding Christmas lights have changed to such an extent that to put up the illuminations we used to have is near impossible. If we need to put anchorage on to any building to hang the lights, it needs to be ‘pull-tested’ and if any of the anchorage points cause damage to the buildings, then the association has to take responsibility for that, which we cannot do.

“We have also been told that we cannot attach lights or motifs to the lampposts along the street as we have done in previous years.”

The council has blamed the situation on a new code of practice. Its spokesman, Nick Yates, said: “There is a code of practice which has to be followed regarding the installation of Christmas lights. The lighting columns are concrete and it is not possible to attach lights to them.”

Bodmin in Cornwall may also be dark this Christmas. The council has been ordered to use a pressure gauge to test all 150 bolts which hold lights or cables around the town.

This must be carried out by two workmen in a cherry picker – which will cost the authority £1,200 in training fees, plus their wages and the cost of the equipment. To test the bolts the town centre roads have to be closed for a day and then closed again while the lights are put up.

The lights cost £7,000 last year but the chamber of commerce has ruled that the increased cash cannot be found. Kim Roscoe, council spokesman, said: “Health and safety requirements have greatly increased the costs. Bodmin will not be the same without its Christmas lights, and it is particularly galling as last year was the best ever.”

In Dereham, Norfolk, local traders have been forced to appeal to the public to help them to raise funds to cover the £10,000 cost. David Ovenden, a shop owner, said: “With increased costs and additional health and safety issues that have added to the bill, we haven’t been able to obtain sufficient funding. I feel it’s a great pity. It’s the biggest single event to happen in Dereham throughout the year and helps put a smile on hundreds of people’s faces.”

In Sandwell, Worcestershire, traders have been told that lights cannot be hung across the widths of roads, because of fears that cables may break.

Scarborough Council has planned an “electric parade” with a pantomime theme to make up for the disappointment of last year’s celebrity switch-on, which was cancelled because of police objections on various health and safety issues.

In Northampton, the main shopping street will be bereft of its Christmas decorations because the council cannot afford them.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said that because of an increasingly litigious culture the cost of the liability cover was increasing. He said: “Insurance is a risk-based product and a high proportion of that risk is liability. If councils are protecting themselves from being sued by a private party then the policies will be expensive.”

A spokeswoman for the Local Government Association said that she “understood” why councils were considering a festive blackout. She said: “There is only a certain amount of money in the pot and it is understandable that authorities are wondering if it could be spent better elsewhere.”

In the west end of London, about £1 million is spent each year on the festive lights which illuminate the three main thoroughfares of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.

However, Jace Tyrell, of New West End Company, which funds and installs the decorations, said that increased regulations have turned a festive tradition into a bureaucratic nightmare. “Health and safety rules have become a lot more strict, and there are more hoops to jump through. Of course, safety is a number one priority, and some of the rules make sense. But sometimes, they just go too far.”

Red tape

— A display featuring a 14ft-high knitted house was dismantled after it was declared a fire hazard

— Firefighters in Essex were warned that they faced disciplinary action after dozing off on the floor because it was “an unauthorised rest facility”

— Midlothian council left the lights on at a disused school in case unauthorised intruders tripped over in the dark

— The swimming pool at Eton is threatened with closure because of demands that three lifeguards must be on duty whenever it is being used

— Children in Blackburn were warned not to play with “counterfeit” banknotes after playing with toy money featuring the head of SpongeBob Squarepants instead of the Queen

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