A WESTBURY man says he is incensed after he was ordered to take down a Union Jack flag outside his house.
Steve Bagshaw-Smith had been flying the flag on a lamppost outside his home in Leigh Park during the summer celebrations including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and recent London Olympics, leading to next week’s start of the London Paralympic Games.
However, he was told to take it down by an employee from Tithegrove Limited, who operate under instruction from Persimmon to prepare the roads before adoption by Wiltshire Council.
Steve, who was himself a member of the armed forces for 15 years said, “We wanted to fly it to show our pride and respect for the Queen for the Jubilee, and decided to leave it up for the Euro championships and Olympics. We had bunting outside the house and everything.
“Everyone has been happy about it, we’ve had a number of celebrations that have bought the neighbours together and it’s made a difference to us all.
“What has incensed me is I joined the services when I was 16, I’m a very proud Briton and I’ve shown it in various ways. For this to happen has really angered me. The council won’t adopt the roads if the flag is flying – why this is so is beyond me. I’ve put this on social networks as well and the amount of feedback has been phenomenal, everyone is incensed by what they’ve done.”
A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said, “We always try to adopt a commonsense approach in everything we do, and we apologise this hasn’t happened on this occasion – especially as Wiltshire Council is a big supporter of this summer’s patriotic events.
“Before the council takes over the maintenance of an estate, the developer must ensure it meets certain standards. This includes ensuring the roads and pavements are even, the drainage system works, and there is nothing attached to any of the street lights. In hindsight, this process was carried out too rigorously on this occasion.”
