Man, 51, Ordered To Take Down Tiny Union Jack Flag, So Puts Up 100-Foot One Instead
It looks like flag-mania is still running wild in Blighty as a man has managed to fly an 100-ft Union Jack flag from a former council building in Chesterfield, after being ordered to take down a much tinier version.
James Holmes, 51, was made to take down his original patriotic display as it was considered a “large-format advertisement”, with a ‘Fly the Flag’ slogan and QR code.
However, James is convinced that he was asked to take it down because council bosses don’t like British patriotism, even though the law literally states that you can’t just go around putting up adverts/political slogans anywhere you like.
In any case, the original flag was torn to shreds by Storm Amy earlier this month, and so James went ahead and spunked £2,500 on a newer, much larger flag (this time without any branding or slogans).
Seeing as the flag is without advertising this time, Chesterfield Borough Council has confirmed that the massive Union Jack can remain in place.
A council spokesperson said: “It’s evident Mr Holmes is keen to recognise our national period of Remembrance, which we also value highly.
“The large Union Flag currently displayed does not breach any planning laws, so no enforcement action will be taken.”
Bit passive aggressive, but OK.
It turns out this has been a bit of a saga between Holmes and Chesterfield Borough Council, following months of disputes over flags hung on one side of the former North East Derbyshire District Council HQ in the town.
Holmes, who has spent £15,000 on flags for the site and other properties he owns, said he was “relieved the council had finally seen some sense.”
He added: “I wouldn’t have taken the flag down anyway but at least the council have seen some sense.
“It demonstrates how they’re wasting council taxpayers’ money. They work from home and don’t know anything, they’re useless.
“It shouldn’t have got to this stage in the first place.
“I never even saw it as being controversial, just encouraging people to fly the flag from the country they’re from.
“The reason we’ve got problems in this country is that they’re shaming people to keep their mouths shut.
“I don’t care, I’m prepared to stand up and see our flag fly like they do in other countries.”
Again, Holmes wasn’t asked to take down any flag(s) because it was a flag, but rather because it was an advert. He’s now put up this flag to create a misleading news story, which will serve as an advertisement in itself for whatever he was touting in the first place. I guess in order to be an elite level flag-shagger you’ve got to have a persecution complex to go along with it? Fair play.
For the dad who spent 6 hours painting a massive St. George Cross on his house after someone tore his flag down, click HERE.
