‘It’s health and safety gone mad’
COUNCIL SLAMMED OVER ‘BAN’ ON TRADERS PUTTING POPPIES ON LAMPPOSTS
COUNCIL bosses have ‘banned’ traders from tying paper-thin plastic poppies to lampposts because of ‘safety risks.’
Last year, Melbourne Street in Stalybridge was decked with the bright red flowers in honour of the centenary of the First World War.
But when local businesses asked to do the same again this year, they were told they couldn’t.
Tameside council officials said that to hang the poppies – which weigh 20g, the same as several sheets of A4 paper – they would have to individually test the stability of each individual lamppost for insurance reasons.
As 2018 was a special occasion, the town hall was happy to foot the bill for these tests, but said it didn’t have the cash to do it again. Instead, the council suggested people put the poppies on trees down Melbourne Street, which traders have done.
The tree line doesn’t cover the full Remembrance Day parade route.
Peter Taylor runs E Taylor & Son on Melbourne Street. He described the situation as ‘health and safety gone mad.’
“Last year for the 100th anniversary it looked so nice,” Peter added.
“We wanted to do the same this year so I sent the same request to the council but they replied saying sorry we can’t do it again and last year was a one-off. They have to have the lampposts stress and push-tested and they don’t have the budget for it.
“The poppies weigh 20g – if that. It’s not even worth weighing them to be honest. It is ridiculous – it’s health and safety gone mad.
“What do they do when they’ve got two or three pigeons sat on top of the lampposts?”
Peter said the council let people hang banners from lampposts a few weeks ago for the Tour of Britain cycle race. When contacted by the M.E.N. Tameside council backtracked somewhat.
A spokesman said the authority stands by its decision not to let traders and residents hang the poppies, but that officials will install them on the community’s behalf.
A statement read: “In general, like many other councils, we try to avoid installing anything – not just poppies – onto lampposts as it can pose safety risks and our insurers don’t provide cover unless we test each individual column.
“This is not only costly to the council tax payer, lamp columns are not designed for any additional load no matter how small and particularly not for anything wind-loading and we have a duty to take these and other safety concerns into account.”
The council then added: “In relation to the request to install poppies onto lampposts, safety has always got to be a priority on any issue relating to the highway, so we have taken the decision to install the poppies on behalf of the community to ensure it is done with all due regard to safety and insurance requirements.
“In the meantime, we are pleased to see our suggestion of displaying poppies on trees on Melbourne Street in Stalybridge has also been taken up.
“We fully support our community’s desire to display poppies with pride and honour all those who have served in the Armed Services and we are pleased we have been able to work together to resolve this.”