Developer puts up 100ft union flag after council dispute

A 100ft (30m) union jack flag has been put up on the side of a former council building in Derbyshire to replace a smaller one that breached planning rules.

Property developer James Holmes had previously placed a 36ft (11m) flag on the old North East Derbyshire District Council building in Saltergate, Chesterfield, in September.

But Chesterfield Borough Council said it was an “unauthorised advertisement” because it promoted a commercial website for Mr Holmes’s Fly the Flag campaign.

Now Mr Holmes says he has had an even larger flag printed and installed for £3,000, which the council says it will not be removing.

“This flag was a mistake – I should have made it bigger,” Mr Holmes said.

“I could have had it two metres bigger really, [and it would] still fit on that part of the building. I might order another one now for the other half of the building as well.

“The flag brightens up the street because the sun is always on this side, which always looks great.

“It was never meant to be controversial but clearly, other than the crooked spire, Chesterfield right at this moment is more famous for this flag.”

The borough council confirmed Mr Holmes’s new flag does not breach any planning rules and therefore would not be removed.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “It’s evident that Mr Holmes is keen to recognise our national period of Remembrance, which is something we also value highly as a council.

“We did contact Mr Holmes in relation to the previous union flags on the front, and on top of the building, as these advertised a commercial website and are therefore classed as unauthorised advertisements.

“We intend to take enforcement action if the remaining unauthorised advertisement is not removed.”

Mr Holmes acquired the former North East Derbyshire District Council building in 2021.

The council added it was engaged in ongoing discussions with Mr Holmes about his “long-standing development plans” for the building.