Council is offered a lift for flag day (From Thisisdorset)

Council is offered a lift for flag day

12:22pm Friday 5th September 2008

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A BUSINESSMAN is offering his council a little lift - up to some tattered flags that need replacing on Weymouth seafront.

Proprietor of Lee Electrical Installation Ltd, Malcolm Lee, has offered free use of a "cherry picker" hydraulic platform to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

He said he is willing to lend the authority the platform and an operating crew for nothing if it means the tattered flags on the town's seafront can be replaced.

Mr Lee made the offer after reading a story in the Dorset Echo in which former director of Blackpool illuminations, Arnold Bennison, criticised the state of the flags.

Mr Lee, whose business is based in Castle Hill Road, Weymouth, said: "If the council is willing to take us up on the offer then we would be happy to do the work for them.

"There are two people I employ who are insured to operate the platform, so they would be the ones doing the work and we would be happy to do it for the council for nothing."

He added: "I wanted to make the offer because it's not a great amount of work to be done but it would help the appearance of the town and be a benefit to everyone really."

Mr Bennison, of Preston, Weymouth, had described the flags on Weymouth seafront as a "disgrace" and suggested that if the council could not afford to replace them that they should be taken down.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council's promotions manager Steve Davies had said the council made "every effort" to maintain the seafront.

But he added that the cherry picker platforms usually used to reach the flags cost around £200 a day to hire, meaning the council had to be "sensible" about doing so.

After reading the story, Mr Lee offered the use of his company's platform for free.

In response, a spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said: "We would be more than happy to talk to Mr Lee about his kind offer and look forward to making arrangements with him directly."

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