UK council bans Union flag from building over health and safety risk!

LONDON - A council in the UK has stayed away from flying the Union flag over its building because of a possible health and safety risk.

The Colchester borough council’s Rowan House office block has no flag since the building was purchased from Anglian Water two years ago.

“It is a very strange shaped building with triangular roofs, and there are no access points,” the Telegraph quoted a council spokeswoman, as explaining why the flag had not been raised.

She added: “It is a logistical operational matter and advice has been taken from the health and safety adviser. We regularly have flags on the town hall, which is a very prominent building just half a mile away from Rowan House.”

However, Will Quince, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Colchester, is quite frustrated at the excuse.

“I cannot believe that a flagpole was put on top of this building that is inaccessible. This seems to be absolute health and safety nonsense,” he said.

Quince added: “I’m happy to go up there and put it up myself.

“I’m incredibly proud to be British and it pleases me greatly when I walk around the town to see many people who proudly display our Union flag. I think it’s really sad we can’t fly it for health and safety reasons.”

Quince even gave a 6ft by 4ft flag to the council on his own accord.

But Anne Turrell, the Liberal Democrat council leader who received Quince’s, said: “Health and safety won’t allow us to do it, unless we scaffold the building.

“That costs thousands of pounds and I’m sure the taxpayers of Colchester wouldn’t want us to spend that to put a flag up.” (ANI)