Residents complained that patriotic bunting was too noisy, so town council executives were obliged to take it down ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The red, white, and blue decorations were erected at Sheerness, Kent, to commemorate Her Majesty’s 70-year reign, but they made a ruckus when it was windy.
Sheerness Town Council stated it wanted something ‘different’ this year and chose plastic, but the ‘annoyance’ was removed when locals expressed their displeasure.
The council has ordered more bunting but is not sure it will make it to the town in time to mark the Jubilee celebrations which kick off on June 2 to celebrate The Queen’s seven decades on the Throne.
Sheerness will also not celebrate by its newly renovated 120-year-old Royal clock that was unveiled during the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Engineers had hurried to revamp the clock – at a cost of £160,000 – for the Jubilee but the council decided the concrete around it would be ‘too hard to sit on’ – so are having their street party in a park instead.
Up and down the country, street parties have been cancelled due to bus route diversions, roadworks not finished in time, red tape and the expense of public liability insurance.
Meanwhile, street lamps have been tested to see if they are strong enough to hold festive bunting and some councils have even asked residents to hold their parties quietly.
Sheerness town council chairman Matt Bromley admitted the plastic union bunting hanging across the High Street and Broadway had been removed.
He told KentOnline: ‘We wanted something different this year so we went for a plastic material.
‘But when the wind blew, it made such a racket residents living above the shops complained.
‘Rather than cause a nuisance, we have taken it down and are intending to donate it to the shops so they can use it to decorate their windows.’
He added: ‘It’s been a learning curve. We will be going back to material next time.’
Sheerness Town Council’s clerk, who was putting up small commemorative Jubilee signs today today, said: ‘Normally we would not put [the bunting] up until around this time but they had been up since the end of April because of St George’s Day.
‘We took the decision to take the bunting down and order some new bunting in time for the celebrations.
‘We are hopeful it will be here in time for the Jubilee.
‘We bought plastic because we thought it was going to a harder material, but people were just saying it was too noisy.
‘We never got official complaints, just complaints on Facebook.’
In further blow to the town, plans for celebrations around the newly restored 120 year old clock tower have also been shelved.
The tower has just returned after a seven-month £160,000 facelift. Engineers pulled out all the stops to ensure it was back in time for the jubilee celebrations.
The Grade-II listed clock was first unveiled on June 26, 1902, to mark the coronation of King Edward VII and and Queen Alexandra.
Cllr Bromley said: ‘The concrete around the clock would have been too hard to have sat on.’
Instead, the council is organising a free picnic with entertainment in nearby Beachfields Park by the sandpit on the seafront Sunday, June 5.
By contrast, Isle of Sheppey’s other town, Queenborough, has taken the bull by the horns and will be lighting its jubilee beacon at Crundall’s Wharf at 9pm next Thursday.
The people of Kent are also likely to have quiet celebrations after its county council ruled street parties must not ‘disrupt local residents with music or other noise’.
But residents should be thankful that they are not completely cancelled like Barnes High Street in Richmond.
Traders there had to put a stop to a ‘packed calendar’ of events because residents of Nassau Road, where the average house price is £3.5 million, complained about buses being diverted past their homes for the event.
Barnes Community Association wrote on its Facebook page: ‘Following complaints from residents in Nassau Road over the temporary diversion of buses down the road, and additional practical issues to enable buses to be diverted, the council felt it would be better to withdraw permission for the party, a view which we share.
‘Unfortunately we were not able to make this party work this time but we still hope that a fabulous community celebration on the High Street will be possible in the future.’
The objection of BBC World Service’s Richard Preston due to it interfering with his work and health and safety made Brent Council ‘downsize’ its street party.
Mr Preston’s neighbours ‘tried to reason with him but it quickly became apparent that he was not going to change his mind’, according to a local.
The resident added: ‘People are very angry at him stopping their fun.’
Mr Preston, who works night shifts at the corporation, said he was not objecting to the party ‘as such’ but felt he ‘didn’t have enough information’ about the proposals.
Newtown’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations planned for its High Street next month have had also been scuppered by roadworks, according to My Newtown.
Lancashire County Council is also insisting that parish and town councils shell out £55 to test any lighting column that is more than seven years old.
If they don’t pass the inspection, the council said it can’t be used to hang decorations such as bunting, baskets and lights.
Pensioner Gloria Odell faced with having to do a ‘counter-terrorism plan’, a security plan, a severe weather management plan and a Covid risk assessment cancelled her June 5 event for just 15 houses on her street in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire which was going to raise money for her local hospice.
Binstead residents on the Isle of Wight said the cost of public liability insurance put paid to their event, the Telegraph reported.
They also would have had to hire traffic management company to draw up traffic plans and supply all signage to close their street.
Chris Gittins, who runs Street Party, an event planning site recommended by the Government, said: ‘Most councils have done a great job for Jubilee street parties. But this is an unnecessary heavy-handed muddle by the local council and its contracted traffic management company.
‘Some streets trudged through the barrage of red tape, but many others would have been put off. If only the council followed what most councils, our website and even the Government suggests – insurance, a risk assessment, etc, are not needed.’
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, in a letter seen by the Mail on Sunday, wrote to every local authority earlier this week to urge them to ‘cut red tape’ and be ‘completely flexible’ over road closures.
Mr Gove added: ‘Your residents should be made aware of all the support that is available and no one should be put off by needless red tape’.
‘National celebrations like this mean a lot to our communities and the fabric of our society.’