Overview
- Kent County Council approved the village display on the A20 on the condition that flags fixed to streetlight columns are taken down for installer safety.
- Harrietsham Parish Council says it cannot spend public money to remove flags on non-parish property and warns the display may be cancelled with hire costs still due.
- KCC’s highways lead Peter Osborne rejects claims of significant extra expense and says the lights contractor can take down any obstructing flags as part of the job.
- Parish officials say their contractor initially advised they could work around the flags, but the county’s safety caveat now prevents that approach.
- The flags are Union and St George’s banners put up over the summer along the A20, drawing political criticism from some local councillors and calls from residents for those who installed them to remove them.