A flag of this country will be reinstated in Sandhurst after more than 20 years of absence.
Councillor John Edwards (Independent, Owlsmoor) proposed a motion to fly the Union Flag at the Memorial Park.
This was debated at a meeting of Sandhurst Town Council’s strategy & policy committee meeting yesterday (Thursday, March 26), and comes after the failure of a similar motion last September.
While cllr Edwards sits as an Independent, he admitted to being a member of Reform UK at the last debate.
Introducing the proposal, he said: “All this motion would be doing is actually to bring Sandhurst Town Council into line with what’s totally normal across the country across Europe, across the world. And actually, it’s just to correct an oversight that many people in Sandhurst don’t even notice that we don’t permanently fly the national flag above our council officers, and also, more importantly, because we’re in a town like Sandhurst and we have the Royal Military Academy (RMA) here.
“I think it’s extra important we fly our union flag here because residents feel a deep connection to the RMA and this is a matter of real importance to them.
“But also the flag is not a symbol for any one party or for any one ideology.
“It belongs to all of us. So whether you’re rich or poor, landed gentry or commoner, conservative or Labour, Liberal Democrat or Reform or nothing, this flag belongs to you.
“And it also represents something equally important to our shared civil identity. So the idea that whatever your background, your ethnicity, we are all British and this flag represents you.”
Although the Union Flag was previously flown from the Memorial Park, it was replaced with a Green Flag when Sandhurst first won the award in 2003.
Cllr Graham Birch (Conservative, Little Sandhurst) explained: “Up until 20 years ago, we used to fly the flag, the Union Jack.
“We were the first town to win the Green Flag.
“Previously, it had been won only by boroughs; we were the first town to win, and it was such a brilliant accolade that there was an immense feeling of pride, and it was flown out there on the main flagpole.
“My understanding is there was never an intent for it to replace the Union Jack.
“However, for one reason or another, it became the only flag up there.”
He therefore proposed an amendment to install a separate flagpole for the Green Flag, which would require relocation and planning permission.
Opposing the motion, cllr Ali Williams (Liberal Democrats, Central Sandhurst) said: “We’re living in a world of a lot of change at the moment, aren’t we? In the UK and internationally.
“I’m thinking if I were a Sandhurst resident and I’m paying 4.99 per cent of my council tax, I think it was a fairly large amount of money to put a poll up. You know, is it the most important?
“It’s quite a lot of money to some people that can’t even afford to heat their homes or get food. Is it really when we look at it in the broader context, is it an appropriate thing to be doing right now?
“What message is it going to send to people, you know, because for it to suddenly appear when flags have been a very contentious issue in the recent years, I think perhaps some stoicism is needed.
“We’re here to serve the community of Sandhurst. We’re not here to talk about political affiliation.
“It could be misunderstood. It could be I’m just imagining what would go off on social media if we did something like that and we need to be really mindful.”
“It could send unintentional messages.”
She added that flying the Union flag could be “inflammatory”.
Cllr Hazel Hill (Conservative, Owlsmoor) said: “The feedback that I’d received from some people was that the flags that were around then on the lamp posts had actually caused distress to those of foreign descent.”
A council officer clarified that a new flagpole would cost between £500 and £945.
The motion to fly the union flag and install a flagpole for the Green Flag was approved by four votes to three at the meeting.
Cllr Leigh Quigg (Liberal Democrats, College Town) said “shame” in reaction to the vote.
