Most lamppost flags to stay 'for now' - council

Rotherham Council said the majority of flags attached to lampposts would not be taken down

Rotherham Council's leader has said the majority of flags attached to lampposts in the town will stay, but warned some would be taken down following complaints and to make way for Christmas lights.

Chris Read said a recent consultation on the issue found around two-thirds of people backed the decision to leave the flags up "at least for the time being".

The flags, mainly Union Flags and St George's Crosses, began appearing on lampposts over the summer, but have divided opinion with some calling them a show of community pride while others said the displays were politically charged.

Read said: "We respect people's pride and sense of belonging, but we also have to make sure everyone feels safe."

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We know many people are proud to see our national flags flying in our communities, and I understand that and respect that.

"It's our flag, and it belongs to all of us. But we've also heard from people who told us they felt uneasy or unsafe because of the flags in some areas. We've got to strike the right balance."

He said that people who had put up flags on streets where festive decorations would be going up "might want to look at taking them down temporarily", adding: "If you don't, we will have to take some of those down while we get the Christmas lights on."

Earlier this year, at a council meeting in September, Councillor Lynda Marshall said the authority would use its powers under the Highways Act 1980 to remove unauthorised or unsafe items from street lighting columns.

At that time, the council said it was not actively removing flags, but would take action if they posed a safety risk, were offensive or generated complaints.

Read, however, said the council was now "following the advice" given through the consultation, which attracted more than 800 responses.

Azizzum Akthar, CEO of charity Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance (REMA), said the controversy over the flags was "nuanced".

"Often, it's not about the action, it's the intention behind it which can be problematic," he said.

"Where people are celebrating their culture and their country, that's something that I would take part in too, but we know where this movement started from - an extreme right-wing position.

"The people who are behind the movement want people to react negatively to it, then take advantage of that and say 'look, they're not part of our nation'."

However, he said he believed the majority of people from ethnic minority backgrounds did not oppose the flags.

"I've got no objection to flags, seeing them doesn't make me feel unwelcome; if your intention is to celebrate your country then have at it - there's nothing wrong with that."

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