Flags can fly high as public given safety warning

City of York Council said it would not be removing flags in the city

City of York Council has said it will not take down Union and England flags that have appeared across the city, although it raised "serious" safety concerns about flags being added to lampposts "without appropriate approvals or equipment".

National flags have appeared across the country in recent weeks, with campaigners saying it aimed to "celebrate the flags that unite our communities".

But the trend has drawn concerns that it feels provocative at a time when tensions are running high across England over immigration.

The council said it had "no plans in place to remove flags that have been put up recently by members of the public", but added there was a "proper process for requesting banners, signs or flags to be added to lampposts".

Safety concerns were raised at the weekend after flags appeared at the top of lampposts in the Tang Hall area, with the council saying it was "extremely worried" about people using ladders to scale the structures.

York-based Joseph Moulton, co-founder of the national campaign Flag Force UK which encourages people to submit instances of the flags appearing, said the drive was about getting the country to unify under one flag.

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Mr Moulton noted people in other countries flew their national flags without any issues.

He put any controversy around the Union flag or St George Cross down to "the culture that's been created in the UK over the last 15 or 20 years".

He said the "vast majority" of the population did not want to be "browbeaten" into not being able to fly their flag for fear it might offend someone.

And he said the flags acted as a "rallying cry" for people who felt "failed" by successive governments and the overall political system.

He said: "I do not think with the direct action that we are doing, the litter picking and food bank collection that we would have anywhere near as much coverage or attention to get the word out as quickly as we have without those flags.

"The flags were the kind of symbol to people within our local area and around the country, that we're all in the same boat, we're all feeling the same thing."

Red paint has given a patriotic touch to a zebra crossing in Tang Hall

But Claire Platz - who has twice had Pride flags torn down from her York shop This Shop Is So Gay, and a Trans flag torn down once, said if the campaign was about unity it would have the "same enthusiasm" for Pride flags.

Ms Platz said the St George Cross should be a symbol that represented everyone in England - but was concerned that the way the campaign was being run was less about national pride and more about "intimidation".

"When hundreds of flags suddenly appear in one place, uninvited, it doesn't feel unifying - it feels like a way of saying who does and doesn't belong here," she said.

She said the attacks on the flags outside her shop were both upsetting and frightening - and were among a number of other incidents, including a threat to burn down the shop.

"Each incident chips away at the basic sense of safety we should all have in our city. What makes it even harder is the double standard," she said.

"Pride flags are targeted again and again, while England flags go up around the city and are left untouched."

Mr Moulton said the Pride flag had become "politically exclusionary".

He said: "There are people of some faiths that don't feel included by the Pride flag.

"The flag that we are flying is the national flag and should represent everybody.

"And to say the England flags are untouched is untrue. There have been a number of incidents where they have been pulled down."

Patricia Pallister said she "loved" the flag decorations sprayed on a zebra crossing in York's Tang Hall Lane.

She said: "It brightens the place up and I have no qualms at all. I am very patriotic, I do I feel relaxed about it and I just like it. I think it's good and hope it stays."

Patricia Pallister said she was "very patriotic" - and the flags brightened up York

Atticus - who asked not to give his surname - said he supported the idea of a country unifying under a flag - but was concerned "vulnerable communities" might feel they were being targeted.

"What I think would be needed to complement this would be an outreach programme so that communities which typically have been victims of right-wing attacks can also find pride in it," he said.

"So I think rather than just putting up flags, we also need outreach on that so more people can feel included."

Paul Dougherty, who was working on house renovations in Tang Hall's Fifth Avenue, said he had seen volunteers putting flags up over the Bank Holiday weekend and had wanted to make a donation.

York's flag campaigners have raised more than £14,000 towards their £16,000 target. They say all the money will go towards flags, poles and cable ties.

Mr Dougherty said: "It's just being patriotic for the country, if it's causing nobody any bother or harm leave them up until they start looking scruffy because eventually they are going to look a mess."

Paul Dougherty said the flags should stay in place unless they start to look "scruffy"

City of York Council said: "We have no plans in place to remove flags that have been put up recently by members of the public. The one exception is on a short stretch of road beside York racecourse – and that's because of a number of high-profile events this week.

"We do, however, have some serious concerns about the safety of people doing this without the appropriate approvals or equipment. Scaling a lamppost with a ladder puts you at risk directly, but it can also be dangerous for people walking or using the road too. We use cherry pickers when doing work on lampposts to keep everyone safe.

"There's a proper process for requesting banners, signs or flags to be added to lampposts, working alongside our colleagues from Make It York. This means that we know where it's safe to add advertising, for example, because the lampposts have been properly tested to check the weight they can bear.

"The banners, signs or flags are attached to the lamppost safely and the correct equipment is used to do the job."

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