Flag of the Fens motion fails to fly with Fenland district councillors
A motion calling on Fenland District Council to back the registering of the Flag of the Fens with the national Flag Registry was withdrawn after a 20-minute discussion.
During the debate of the motion, which was brought to Monday’s full council meeting by Wisbech councillor Dal Roy, the flag - designed by Ely-based James Bowman - was described as a poor imitation of the Scottish flag.
Cllr Roy said in his motion: “The people of Fenland need an identity to bring them together as Fenlanders.
“It is considered that registration of the flag would give our people an identity.”
Whittlesey’s Cllr Dee Laws said she had not heard of anyone in the town supporting the flag which she said was a “poor copy” of the Scottish flag.
She also pointed out the council had an emblem and a flag displaying it was in fact flying over Fenland Hall at the time of the debate.
Cllr Steve Tierney described Cllr Roy’s assumption that Fenland did not have an identity as “rude” and added that just because the flag had support of people like MP Steve Barclay it did not mean the council had to back it.
He felt there should be consultation before any decision was made with schools, and the wider community getting involved.
Cllr Gowler said the flag was “one person’s idea” and agreed that if a flag was to be adopted there should be public consultation.
Meanwhile, Cllr ElisabethSennitt-Clough said Fenland had not always had a homogenous identity and felt it was important to preserve the identity of the Fens as it has always been a group of individual islands with the suffixes ‘ey’ or ‘ea’.
She said: “The idea of the flag airbrushing out that individual spirit of the Fens is not acceptable to me.”
Cllr Sam Hoy was sad that the opposition rarely brought motions to the council, but had chosen to do so over a flag rather than an issue deemed more important which affect Fenland.
After listening to the debate, Cllr Roy withdrew the motion and said: “Every day is a learning day”.
He agreed there were a number of elements he had overlooked.
