A woman from Nottinghamshire could be given a £2,500 fine after flying a Santa flag outside of her home, and all because she doesn't have planning permission. Whilst Broxtowe Borough Council has admitted the rules sound "barmy", under national planning legislation the flying of flags is actually restricted.
Janis Patterson was bought a flag pole and flags as a present and put the flag pole up at her property in October. She said "I was just so shocked. First of all I never considered myself to be a criminal in my life. And then a £2,500 fine when I'm on a state pension - I wouldn't know how I'd get the money for that."
Under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations SI 2007/783, flying certain flags requires planning permission as they are technically considered as advertising. However, there are exceptions to this, and they include a national flag, county flags, armed forces flags etc. As the Santa flag is not approved by national legislation, planning permission should be sought, and it is the job of local planning authorities across the country to enforce those planning rules, no matter how "barmy" they may seem.
Council leader Richard Jackson said that there had been a complaint, and that meant planning enforcement officers had to enforce the law. He said, "It does sound a bit barmy to regard a Santa flag as advertising but those are the rules. But we are really keen to work with Ms Paterson to see if there is a way to get planning permission."
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