St George’s flags started going up across the country last year, many on lampposts (file image) (Image: Getty)
A council has removed more than 1,000 St George’s and Union flags, saying they pose a safety risk. The Conservative leader of Surrey County Council said in total 1,003 flags attached to infrastructure belonging to the local authority have been torn down.
Councillor Tim Oliver said flags are still being attached to highway infrastructure, like lampposts, with the council aware of more than 300 going up between December and mid-February alone. He said this is continuing “to present an ongoing challenge, not only in Surrey but across the country”. The council leader said: “Surrey’s approach remains unchanged and is set out on our website.
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St George’s and Union flags have been attached to lampposts and bridges across the country (Image: Getty)
“Our contractor prioritises and removes any flags that present an immediate safety risk. All other flags are addressed as part of routine highway maintenance activities.
“To date, we have removed 1,003 flags from the network, and we estimate that approximately 308 remain.”
In a statement in September, the council said while it recognises the importance of the flags, they can pose a safety risk.
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The attachment of flags to infrastructure across the UK has been controversial (file image) (Image: Getty)
It said all flags attached to lampposts must be approved by the authority, and that unauthorised flags “can pose a risk to both drivers and pedestrians”.
“It is our standard procedure to remove them,” it added.
Cllr Oliver’s comments were in response to a question from Jonathan Essex, Green Party councillor for Redhill East.
He called on the council to do more to remove the flags, claiming they are “intimidating”.
Clr Essex said in one area, instead of being removed, flags are “increasingly in tatters, untidy yet remaining in place”.
He said: “It is clear that Surrey County Council’s current policy is not working.
“Instead, the continued presence of these flags, and failure to remove them from the public highway, implies consent and gives tacit legitimacy to their intimidating presence. While Surrey County Council states its ambition to be a county where no-one is left behind.”
The widespread flying of flags across the country started last year following an online movement called Operation Raise the Colours.
Surrey County Council has removed more than 1,000 flags from its infrastructure (file image) (Image: Getty)
Activists in the movement said putting up the flags is patriotic, while critics have accused them of sowing division amid heightened tensions over immigration.
In his question on Tuesday, Cllr Oliver also referenced how another councillor raised concerns that council “inaction” on removing flags illegally attached to lampposts “encouraged those using the threat of violence to get what they want, undermining community cohesion”.
He said: “In response the Cabinet member confirmed that to avoid an escalation of local hostility Surrey County Council’s contractor was instructed not to immediately remove flags, and that the wholesale removal of flags would be extremely challenging – if not impossible – due to the strength of local feeling.
“So, the approach adopted has been to prioritise the immediate removal of flags deemed to pose a safety risk, with remaining flags to be dealt with as part of routine maintenance.”
He added: “The current state of affairs is creating a new normal where such misuse of public assets appears to be condoned.”
The removal of the flags has been met with a mixed response by Surrey locals.
One person said on social media: “Flags all over Horley need removing, they have made the whole area unpleasant, people are avoiding the town and are laughing at the vile, mindless motives of the residents”.
However, according to GB News, others expressed their support for the flags, insisting they were all about showing pride for the country.
“Waving the flag is about celebrating all things British, local, and full of heart,” one said.
