DISTRICT councillors want to make it easier for residents to fly a remembrance flag.

But members of Wychavon District Council argued over a technical point before agreeing a way forward.

Councillors say people should be able to fly the ‘Lest We Forget’ flag without needing planning permission.

Cllr Emma Kearsey said a resident faced enforcement action over flying the flag and - because he is a tenant of a housing association - could even have been evicted from his home.

She tabled a motion at last Wednesday’s (October 16) full council meeting calling on the authority to lobby the housing secretary to include the flag in the list of those that can be flown without consent.

The list currently includes any country's national flag, the Armed Forces Day flag and the official flags of any counties, districts, cities, towns and parishes in the UK.

Cllr Paul Middlebrough said the College of Arms is responsible for deciding which flags can be flown publicly in the UK.

He said until the college has assessed the value of the flag, which “might take a long time”, planning enforcement officers should be allowed to use their discretion over the use of such flags for “personal and national remembrance”.

But Cllr Emma Stokes said she had a problem with discretion being used by enforcement officers.

She said: “Only this week, as Evesham Town Council, we had to remove our promotional bonfire banners from the complaint of one single person who is a failed candidate in one of the elections.

“He complained about the bonfire advertising and resulted in all our promotional material being removed - at the discretion of enforcement officers who have no option but to apply the rule if they receive a complaint.”

Cllr Kearsey said she respected Cllr Middlebrough’s passion but that housing associations “have to adhere to the enforcement action”.

She said there was no other way to allow people to fly the Lest We Forget flag legally but to go through the Secretary of State.

Cllr Dan Boatright-Greene said he was “very happy to talk to enforcement officers and the police as required”.

After voting on a couple of amendments to the motion, it was eventually voted through unanimously by councillors.