A defiant property boss has draped an enormous 100ft Union flag across a former council headquarters after officials told him to tear down a smaller version.
James Holmes, 51, was told to take down a small Union flag by Chesterfield Borough Council after he put one up on the former council building in Chesterfield.
Angered by the council, Mr Holmes instead hit back by putting up a larger flag which now covers the entire front of the building.
The property boss bought the site in 2021 to turn it into flats. He said he was making a stand for British pride.
The original flag was half the size and featured a ‘Fly the Flag’ slogan and QR code.
Chesterfield Borough Council ordered him to remove it, saying it was a ‘large-format advertisement.’
Mr Holmes refused but the flag was ripped to shreds during Storm Amy last month in a cruel turn of fate.
Undeterred, the developer spent £2,500 on his giant replacement flag last Friday and removed the branding in an attempt to appease the council.
James Holmes, the developer who erected the huge flag on a former council building in Chesterfield
The huge union flag was put up after a smaller one was torn apart during Storm Amy last month
The father-of-three said: ‘The wind tore the first one down, but the council were causing trouble too.
‘I’ve taken out what they didn’t like – now it’s just the flag. I want people talking about where they can fly it.
‘We’ve been indoctrinated to be ashamed of our flag. If you’re ashamed of it, why work hard and pay taxes for your country?’
He has already spent £15,000 on flags for other projects and says he hasn’t heard yet if the council will try to pull this one down.
He added: ‘If they want to waste taxpayers’ money chasing me, let’s see how quick they are. Maybe they should do some real work instead.’
The council has been approached for comment.
It comes as a London council which branded people who fly St George’s and Union Jack flags ‘far-right’ tore down almost 80 in a two-day removal spree.
Councillors, some dressed in pro-Palestinian garbs, passed a Labour-led motion this month which condemned those flying the national flag as ‘far right’ extremists.
James Holmes spent £2,500 on the huge flag after the council ordered him to tear his old one down
A smaller Union flag is also positioned on the roof of the building in defiance against the council
They warned that the borough, home to the asylum seeker Britannia Hotel where fiery anti-migrant protests took place throughout the summer, was plagued by ‘far-right agitators attempting to import division’.
The removal of St George’s flags was branded ‘outrageous’ by Susan Hall, the head of the Conservative group in the London Assembly, while Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said ‘this absurd national self-loathing must end’.
Tower Hamlets previously prided itself on its displays of Palestine banners but used metal poles to rip down England flags in the borough during the peak of the ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ movement.
The east London authority disposed of 43 English and British flags on August 18, before pulling down a further 35 two days later.