Saltash will be starting Christmas celebrations early this year. For the first time the event will be on a Saturday afternoon (November 29) with entertainment in the main street, and the carol service will also be starting earlier than usual. So far, the entertainment includes a jazz band, harmony chorus, Hi Jack etc, and the times of street closures and any other information will be announced at a later date. The information was given at the town council's civic amenities meeting at the Guildhall last week by cllr Neil Challen of the festival committee. Cllr Joe Ellison has been re-elected as chairman of the civic amenities committee. Meanwhile, the council is looking for suitable land for use as allotments, and it was also suggested that people who are no longer able to cultivate their gardens through age or infirmity might like someone to take it over as an allotment. Anyone interested is asked to contact town clerk Marilyn Small at Saltash Guildhall. Signage is awaited to notify the public that toilets at the Brunel Inn and the Railway Hotel Inn in Fore Street can be used by the public. The signs will be in the windows of these premises shortly. Discussing the preservation of trees in the town, councillors are checking on trees in their wards and reporting back to the council, which will then contact the tree preservation officer for advice on which trees can be preserved.