Pride event fined over bunting row
OLDHAM Pride organisers have been handed a fine after they failed to take down rainbow bunting used to decorate the town centre.
The Rainbow Association has been fined £80 by Oldham Council - a move organisers have branded ‘silly and petty’.
The group, which has run Oldham Pride for 15 years, relies on volunteers to arrange the event and clear up afterwards.
Chairman George Campbell says the fixed penalty notice was enforced because volunteers had failed to remove bunting, patterned with the LGBT pride rainbow flag, within the stipulated timeframe after the event on Saturday, July 28.
But George claims no deadline was given. He said: “We are a small working group of seven people and reliant on volunteers to help with tasks like this.
“We rely on local businesses to help us with the event, including taking down the bunting and flags.
“The council approached us two or three times about three strings of bunting. I told them the volunteer who has ladders big enough had been held up a few times and we couldn’t pressure them because they’re a volunteer. The person who takes it down for us is trained to climb ladders of that height. All last week the council have been out watering hanging baskets so they could quite easily have assisted us.
“Why didn’t the council ask if we wanted any help? Last year they removed it for us. The fixed penalty notice said we had not removed it within the specified time but there was no specified time given to us.
“I don’t think it’s in the spirit of a community event.”
Oldham Pride, which was partially funded by a £2,000 council grant, this year drew 500 revellers to the town centre. “It’s bringing people into the town,” he said. “This is bureaucracy gone mad. “The council provide minimal funding for this event yet wish to take it back with a silly fine.”
Just this week Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham appointed Carl Austen-Behan as the region’s new LGBT Adviser. Among a range of initiatives aimed at supporting the region’s LGBT communities, he has been tasked with encouraging Pride events.
Oldham Council say the fixed penalty notice was issued after several requests for the bunting to be removed. Councillor Sean Fielding, leader of Oldham Coun- cil, il said: id “W “We’ve ’ supported td Oldham Pride since it started and have a good relationship with the organisers. Following this year’s successful event we asked Mr Campbell on three separate occasions to remove the old bunting and flags which were left hanging in Parliament Square.
“He failed to do so and on the last occasion, on his own admission, ejected a council officer who attended his business premises. The officer was left with no alternative but to issue a formal notice to ensure the flags and bunting were removed.
“He was served with a fixed penalty notice, which we are open to reviewing.”