20.05.2009

The platform message

South Kesteven District Council, which maintains the town hall in Bourne, Linconshire, says it is now too risky to ask the site manager to use a ladder to fit the flag to the pole on the front of the town hall.

As a result the union flag will not fly this year on Armed Forces Day on June 27th, or on the Queens birthday earlier in the month.
Please register to see all images

The controversial flag pole

The council is quoted as saying: “Putting up the flag is not as simple as pulling a rope. It involves our site manager climbing an 8ft ladder, which rests on a plinth overlooking a spiked gate. We think this is too risky'”

Perhaps a local access rental company should contact them and explain about towers or aerial lifts?

Vertikal Comment

It never ceases to amaze at how many organisations are still blissfully unaware of the wide range of access equipment that is available to buy, rent or lease.

Local government is one of the worst, issuing edicts on the use of ladders while not understanding that there are alternatives.

In the UK a large number of local councils receive a copy of Cranes&Access magazine and yet when a subscriber moves job, we are all too often told that it is no longer required. When they are asked about needing to keep up with working at height the response is all too often "no we don’t have a need for that."

No wonder then that ridiculous stories such as this surface so often, however it does demonstrate how much work is left to do in spreading the message and best of all on how many new potential users there are out there still.