Developers order giant Union flag taken down

A GIANT Union Flag put up by scaffolders on Bristol's Colston Tower to celebrate Britain's Olympic and Jubilee year was taken down after developers complained.

Inspired by feelings of national pride stirred up by the Olympics and Paralympics, the workmen decided to brighten up the safety netting they had been asked to put around the walls of one of the city's best-known tower blocks while renovation work is carried out.

The flag, created using red, white and blue safety mesh, measured 80ft by 60ft and provided a striking new talking point for the Centre.

But within hours of creating the flag the workers were told to take it down after an agent for the builders carrying out the work saw it and a complaint was lodged.

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The flag was the idea of contractors Pocock Safety Netting and Advanced Scaffolding.

It could have adorned the 14-storey building for months while builders CW Duke carried out refurbishment work.

However, neither contractor had asked for permission to vary the agreed all-blue colour scheme and they were told to take it down.

Lee Pocock, of Pocock Safety Netting, said: "I just think it was a bit off. We just wanted to do something for Team GB and we got asked to take it down.

"There was a specification that it had to be blue debris netting. The site agent saw it and said it should have been blue.

"He made a phone call to someone then he said to us 'it's the wrong colour, you've got to take it down'."

Paul Evans, the managing director of CW Duke, said: "Advanced Scaffolding decided to put up a combination of red, white and blue debris netting to represent a Union Jack on the face of a scaffold hired by us to carry out works on Colston Tower. The netting was put up without permission or agreement being sought from CW Duke and as a result they were instructed to take it down.

"Had the appropriate permissions been sought and granted, CW Duke would have been proud to put up a Union Jack in such a prominent position within the city centre but we are a professional company and act accordingly. In this situation the correct procedures were not followed."

Paul Rich, from Advanced Scaffolding, admitted they did not have permission from either the owners of Colston Tower – Development Securities plc and Ellandi LLP – or CW Duke.

"It was our fault," he said.

The contractors had previously put up decorated netting at the Tobacco Factory, which Mr Rich said proved popular.

Colston Tower is being marketed as an "iconic multi-let office and retail building" with a range of tenants and an occupancy rate of 85 per cent.

The Post understands neither Development Securities nor Ellandi were aware the Union Flag had been put up in the first place and did not make any complaint about it.