A poppy display which was cancelled is now set to go ahead after a row over the signage was resolved.
Barnsley’s Remembrance Day poppy display, organised by the Hoyland Remembrance and Parade Group (HRPG), was called off by the organisation after changes to display rules were made by Barnsley Council.
The council updated its guidelines after it said there was ‘an increase in unlicensed attachments’ since the recent influx of flag flying, which meant people could no longer add the poppies to poles that had road signs on them.
The group said this meant its plans for 350 poppies to be placed on each of the posts around the town, containing the names of dead soldiers, would fall foul of the new rules.
A council spokesperson told Metro at no point it stopped the display from going ahead.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
HRPG chairman Robert Hill said it would leave the town centre ‘looking bare with only the sporadic placing of poppies’, according to HRPG.
‘I am genuinely disheartened that we will not be putting up the wooden poppies on lampposts and road signage posts lining the parade route,’ he said.
‘We cannot put one up with a name and not another, as we believe this would be disrespectful.’
Other rules set by the council also caused problems, such as not being allowed to lean ladders against the posts and only installing them above head height.
Last night, a spokesman for the Council told Metro the display would now be going ahead.
Cllr Sir Steve Houghton, the leader of Barnsley Council, told Metro: ‘There have been inaccurate reports on social media and in some news articles suggesting Barnsley Council has stopped the installation of poppies on street lights. This isn’t true.
‘We value the dedication of groups that honour our fallen heroes, and we have always fully supported respectful poppy displays on street lights.
‘We have recently updated guidance about how to do this safely, and as a result, Hoyland Remembrance and Parade Group announced they would not be installing Poppies in Hoyland this year.
‘We said from the beginning that we were committed to working with community groups to ensure such tributes can be delivered safely and appropriately, and I’m pleased to say we now have found a way forward that we hope will now see the display go ahead.
‘After listening to the group’s concerns and through continued discussion and agreement with our Highways team, we’ll be working together to find safe locations to install poppies. This will include lampposts, and where appropriate, some posts with road signs as long as the safe and legal use of these posts is preserved.’
The Hoyland Remembrance and Parade Group said it has met with the council’s highways team to confirm the poppy display.
It added it was ‘concerned’ about the reports that the Council stopped them putting the poppies up and were happy to come to a resolution.
They added: ‘We thank the Council for their support of our Parade and the support to our ongoing maintenance and care of Hoyland and Blacker Hill War Memorial.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
