A flag pole will be installed at one of Cheltenham’s parks to show off a recent award. The spa town’s Sandford Park recently reatained its Green Flag status.
This award showcases the international quality mark for parks and green spaces, recognising them as being amongst the country’s finest. Officers told a recent Cheltenham Borough Council planning committee meeting on that the eight-metre tall flag pole would display the recently awarded Green Flag.
The flag will be 0.9 metres by 1.85 metres. And the application was referred to the planning committee on December 19 because Cheltenham Borough Council is the applicant. Councillor Adrian Bamford (LD, Up Hatherley) said during the debate that the park was used to land air ambulances.
He asked if the council had checked with the hospital that they are not likely to land emergency helicopters there.
“Up until a few years ago we used to land helicopters there,” he said. I thought we ought to check before we stick a flag there.”
A Google Earth image showing the proposed location of the flagpole
(Image: CBC)
Officers said they had not checked and did not know if they did land helicopters there. But Councillor Paul Baker (LD, Charlton Kings), who is one of the founders of Friends of Sandford Park and a regular park user, said helicopters land further across the site.
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the scheme.