Patriotic gran wins fight against council over flying the Union flag
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/577...Union-Flag-ban
Flying high! Patriotic gran forces council to retreat on Union Flag ban
A PENSIONER who was threatened with eviction from her allotment for proudly displaying a Ukip banner and Union flag has won her fight against council bosses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daily Express
Outraged Beryl McNichol, 71, had said it was as if she were living in a communist country after she was ordered to tear down the 18ft flagpole on her allotment plot or be evicted within 24 hours. After the council reversed its decision, she said: "The council has shot itself in the foot for making such a fuss in the first place."
Mrs McNichol had used the flag pole to show her patriotism for more than two decades - raising the Union Flag, and the England flag during the World Cup and a Lest We Forget flag for VE Day. However she ran into trouble with her local Labour-ruled council two weeks ago when she flew a purple Ukip flag as well.
The council said the flagpole was classed as an inappropriate development on the allotment despite there being no mention of flagpoles in the plot agreement. A local planning officer then ruled the pole would have to be removed following a complaint about its presence, and because it breached the terms of her allotment tenancy.
Over four days she was sent two letters and numerous emails by a Mansfield District Council officer, who then turned up to remove the Ukip and a union flag himself. However, following a public outcry the council has performed a u-turn, writing to the grandmother-of-four and telling her that the flag pole can remain in place as long as it was modified to make sure it was
safe. Planning boss Sean Davies denied accusations that the order to take it down had been a political move, and said he did not know who had made the complaint about the Ukip banner.
Always nice to see common sense win the day for once. I am surprised the council hasn't done what many nazi councils do when people fly flags or tidy up some public grassland/plant flowers, which is to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money to punish good acts by good people. That's usually the sort of nasty response we're used to seeing in this country whenever people show up their local stasi council.
Thoughts?
