This petition has been reviewed and the following response has been offered:
Dear Mr Willet
Thank you for presenting this petition.
We are respectful of the importance of celebrating our national identity, and ECC proudly flies the Cross of St George every day at County Hall.
The English flag is a great source of national pride, alongside the other flags of the Union. They also reflect our proud history as a nation, and our deeply held national values - liberty, the rule of law, mutual respect, tolerance and fair play.
The following notes guide how we will act if there is a risk to drivers and/or pedestrians or others.
If flags need to be removed for any safety reason, we will explain why. This, of course, comes at a cost to the taxpayer.
Guidance
- Flags fixed to lighting columns/other highways structures: These will only be removed where placement causes a road safety or community safety concern. The exception to this will be any flags that are annotated with the emblem of a proscribed organisation.
- Flags painted on to highway (e.g. roundabouts, zebra crossing) or signs: These will be repainted where there is a significant road safety concern. ECC may not be able to repaint all sites, or repeatedly return to repaint site. The exception is for incidents where any slogans or their placement may be connected to a hate crime/Police investigation.
- Flags flying on private property: Providing planning is in place (where required) and there are no safety issues, no action will be taken.
- Flags placed on ECC buildings without permission: These will be removed if they present a material safety risk to site users or the building, utilising established procedures/maintenance agreements. Any potential criminal damage offence will be reported to Essex Police.
- Complaints: Any complaints about flags should be directed to ECC.Customerservices@essex.gov.uk
Our role is limited to assessing items placed on the highway from a safety perspective. We do not remove flags or other items unless they present a clear safety hazard to road users or pedestrians. For any that you believe to be a risk to public safety, please report this directly to Essex Highways, with exact location details so this can be assessed: https://www.essexhighways.org/tell-us
Our highways inspectors do carry out routine safety inspections, and any items on lamp columns or other highway assets are assessed as part of that process. If a flag or its fixings are found to pose a safety concern, it will be dealt with in line with our usual procedures.
Thank you again for bringing these concerns to our attention.
Cllr Mark Webster
Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure
Essex County Councillor for Clacton South Division
County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX
cllr.mark.webster@essex.gov.uk
www.essex.gov.uk
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