‘The council told me to take down a flag – I have put up a huge 100ft Union Jack instead’ | UK | News
A Derbyshire property developer has erected a massive 30ft Union Jack after the council forced him to remove a smaller version that breached planning rules. James Holmes installed an 11-metre flag on the side of the former North East Derbyshire District Council building in Saltergate, Chesterfield, in September. Chesterfield Borough Council ordered Mr Holmes to remove it on the grounds that it was an “unauthorised advertisement” because it was promoting a website linked to the Fly the Flag campaign, which aims to “encourage every UK resident to fly the Union Jack with pride”.
In response, the developer printed an even larger flag, 30 meters long, to hang on the structure he owned, at a personal cost of £3,000. The local authority confirmed it would not remove the larger installation. “The flag was a mistake, I should have made it bigger,” Mr Holmes said.
He told the BBC: “I could have bought two meters bigger [and it would] it still fits in that part of the building. Now I can order another one for the other half of the building.
“The flag lights up the street because the sun is always on this side, which always looks great.”
Noting that media attention had focused on the town as a result of the display, he added: “It was never intended to cause controversy, but clearly, apart from the crooked tower, Chesterfield is now more famous for this flag.”
Union Jacks and St George flags have been hung from railings, flagpoles, signs and structures across the country in recent months as part of a campaign known as Operation Raise the Colours.
While some participants insisted that the demonstrations were merely expressions of patriotism, critics accused the campaign of racism and xenophobia.
Widespread flag flying also caused tensions at the local level; many municipalities have removed flags from public infrastructure, citing public safety concerns.
A spokesman for Chesterfield Borough Council said: “It is clear that Mr Holmes is keen to recognize our national period of Remembrance, something that we as a council hold very dear.
“We contacted Mr Holmes regarding previous union flags on the front and top of the building as these were advertising a commercial website and were therefore classed as unauthorized advertising.
“We plan to take enforcement action if the remaining unauthorized ad is not removed.”
