Flag row takes another twist
Northern Echo
11th October 2005
by Dan King
A ROW over a European Union flag taken down from outside a council headquarters has taken another twist - after the authority confirmed it was seeking to put it back up at taxpayers' expense.
Wear Valley District Council was ordered to take down the flag from its base in Crook, County Durham, last month after it emerged that it did not have permission to fly it.
Under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulation 1992, the EU flag is classified as an outdoor advertisement and requires planning permission.
But now the council has applied for authorisation to restore it - and spent £265 on applying for advertising consent.
Anti-European campaigner Neil Herron said he was unhappy that public money was being used to fund it and that no consultation had been carried out.
"They haven't sought public opinion on this. I do not think many people would want an EU flag being flown.
"I am a Wear Valley rate payer and I object to it. I do not want my money being used by a council for this."
The flag had been on display for several years before political crusader Jim Tague discovered that, under the Freedom of Information Act, the council was breaking the rules.
It was taken down, and The European Parliament office, in London, followed suit shortly afterwards as they removed a large EU flag for the same reason.
Mr Tague said: "That Wear Valley District Council has applied for advertisement consent to fly the EU flag does not surprise me.
"After all, it was proved illegal to fly the flag without prior consent.
"If the council wish to fly the EU flag ahead of the English flag, then they will be challenged.
"We want our flag to fly on a permanent basis, and the EU flag to fly on Europe day, May 9."
A spokesman for Wear Valley District Council confirmed: "The housing department have put a planning application in and the fee is £265.
"There are 21 days in which people can object and we have already consulted residents who will be looking on to it.
"Any objections would be taken into consideration."
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
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9 comments:
""Any objections would be taken into consideration.""
I bet they won't. Not unless things get a little, how shall I put this, difficult for them.
Neil
You make no mention of the fact that taxpayers money must not be used to persuade the public to any one political view or opinion. The EU is a political project of highly questionable legitimacy and council tax must not be used to advertise it.
John Kelly
John Kelly makes a very good point.
Mark, Durham
Already covered in previous posts. The legislation which hangs them from their own flag pole is Section 19 of The Local Authority Guidelines on Publicity...'You cannot use public money to persuade the public to hold a particular view on a question of policy.'
We used this to force the unelected assembly to take down its website and withdraw all its brochures in advance of the referendum.
Letter already gone in. Will post shortly.
Who runs the Housing Department? Is it the function of the Housing Department to advertise the EU? Can it start advertising Costa Rica if it wants to?
Peter
Good luck and give them hell.
Lets see the EUssr rag removed and replaced by the Cross of Saint George
Good luck and give them hell.
Lets see the EUssr rag removed and replaced by the Cross of Saint George
I always support Neil in his fight. I was thinking WHY? all the fuss about flying the EU flag? It is just a rag, however I do not recall an ourage over the total destructiopn of our industries,our farmers,our fishemen, miners, cotton makers. Do you remember them? All gone by one lying government after another.
This lot we have now has only a few steps left to destroy our country. We must get real! We are lost if we do NOT leave the EU.
This Government took us to war with lies, it sends our lads to fight for so called Democracy, when it is slowly taking OURS away! They are taking away or trying to take away our rights by stealth. Corpus Juris by the back door.Remember that the very soldiers they are sending to fight their war are from the self same units that they are trying to destroy. The reason. More lies will be told.
Good Luck Neil.
See you in Stalag No1 for anti-europeans. Scouser.
you know who I am!
At 2:06 AM, Anonymous said...
Who runs the Housing Department? Is it the function of the Housing Department to advertise the EU? Can it start advertising Costa Rica if it wants to?
Yes, they can, as under the 1992 regulations, the display of any national flag was permitted without the need for express or deemed planning consent.
The good news is that the European Union flag is now allowed to be flown without planning permission, as Statutory Instrument number 666 of 1992 has now been superceded by SI number 783 of 2007: The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007. These regulations, which apply to England only, permit the following categories of flags to be displayed without permission:
(1) any country’s national flag, as under the previous regulations;
(2) the flag of the Commonwealth, the United Nations or the European Union;
(3) the flag of any English county;
(4) the flag of any saint, but only within the county with which the saint is associated.
Other, standard, conditions apply.
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