The cost of removing Union Jack and St George Cross flags on one Exeter Road has been estimated at £6,000.
The cash links to work carried out by Devon County Council to remove flags from lampposts on the busy Bridge Road, that connects Countess Wear roundabout down to the roundabout for Exminster.
The figure has come to light from a Freedom of Information request posted on the council’s website.
The council states that at the time, it did not hold the final invoiced cost for the work to remove the flags, but had predicted a cost.
“However, the estimated cost of the operation is approximately £6,000,” the response said.
“This estimate includes lane closures, use of mechanical lifting equipment, and the time of several council employees.
Under the provisions of the Highways Act 1980, the council will recharge the full cost to the individual(s) responsible for erecting the flags without authorisation and will take enforcement action to recover these costs. This ensures that the cost to the public is zero.”
This effort to remove the flags proved problematic, though, as footage on social media emerged of someone reattaching flags to the same lampposts where council employees had taken them down only moments earlier.
The video prompted a host of comments from people questioning how much had been spent on taking the flags down, particularly when such efforts only had a momentary impact.
Last month, Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge) the leader of Devon County Council reiterated that removing the flags was linked to safety and because they were attached without permission.
“Streetlights are meant for lighting, and this road carries a lot of traffic. It wouldn’t need much of a breeze for a flag, often hung eight metres up, to be dislodged and fall onto the windscreen of a moving vehicle or cyclist and cause an accident,” he said.
He said that people putting up flags in such locations were forcing the council to divert resources to dealing with them that could be used for other means.
“I’ve always said I absolutely support those who want to show their patriotism and if that’s putting up a flag on your own property that’s fine. But if it’s not your property, clearly you need to ask permission first, and these flags were placed without permission.”
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