The organisers of a Kinross-shire gala day have labelled a last-minute bunting ban “bureaucracy gone mad.”
Portmoak villagers had hoped to decorate the streets before this weekend’s annual event, but were told by the local authority they were breaching health and safety rules, and an electricity company made a warning about the lethal current passing through overhead lines.
Children’s hand-made signs encouraging residents to “come along” were pulled from the ground in case they interfered with piping deep underground, and strings of brightly coloured bunting removed from utility poles.
The event has been the height of Portmoak’s summer calendar for many years and features sports competitions, craft and home-baking stalls, dog agility demonstrations and a parade featuring the glamorous gala queen.Some of the money raised is distributed among local organisations.
One gala committee member contacted The Courier to express her frustration at the situation.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said the local primary school children were “bitterly disappointed.”
“It’s a real shame,” she said.
“You wouldn’t think anything was going on in the village. There are no decorations.
“The pupils at Portmoak Primary spent hours making signs and colourful displays only to be told by the authorities it cannot be used.”A step too far””We in the committee take health and safety, insurance and licensing very seriously and have always ensured all the boxes are ticked before the event, but this seems a step too far.”
She added, “The gala day has been going on for years and there has never been a problem.
“The only place to drape the bunting is the utility poles on Lesley Road, but no one has ever been in any danger.
“The string is tied halfway down the pole so no one was ever near the wires.
“The electricity board came down a couple of weeks ago and put ‘danger of death’ signs on the poles and warned we were not to touch them.
“The locals are enraged it is bureaucracy gone mad.”
A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed all unauthorised signs would be removed.”Safety risk””Signs advertising events are not permitted on road verges because they can distract motorists or cause pedestrians to trip and therefore pose a safety risk,” the spokesman said.
“The installation of signposts on verges can also present a danger to the person hammering the post in and damage underground cabling and pipework for utilities like electricity and gas.”
They added, “The council has no wish to prevent community groups and organisations from highlighting their events to the public.
“However, we will not give permission for such signs and will remove any we find have been put up on road verges, for the reasons stated above.”
A spokesman for Scottish Hydro Electric warned the public not to interfere with any form of electricity supply, adding, “Some electricity lines carry up to 33,000 volts.
“We want people to have a good time but would obviously ask them not to hang anything whatsoever from these poles.”
The gala day opens at 1.45pm on Saturday with the queen’s parade.
Portmoak primary seven pupil Megan Morton (11) is this year’s gala queen.