Stephen Culham put the flags up on the front of his pub following the Queen’s Jubilee earlier this year after his original flag was torn down during the celebrations.
However, three weeks later, Culham received a letter from Tendring District Council (TDC) warning him that if he didn’t take down the flags he would face legal proceedings.
The Council explained that the rainbow pride flags needed permission as only a national or county flag can be flown without consent. The initial complaint was made to the local parish council who passed the matter on to TDC.
With the support of his customers, Culham is campaigning to get at least one of the flags flying outside his pub again. They are currently hanging inside the pub as curtains.
He is set to meet with the planning officer of Tendring Council at the pub today after Council leader Neil Stock issued an apology for how the council had handled the matter.
Culham said: “The thing that bugged me the most is that although the flag is a symbol for gay pride, it has always been a friendly flag and the message I was trying to get across here is that there are no prejudices - everyone is welcome.
“Sorry is a very easy word to say but it has caused me a lot of grief and anguish. The only resolution is that I want my flags back up and I am going to stick to that.
“The support I have had has been enormous and the other thing that has been really nice is that it is not just the gay community who have got behind and pushed. My straight clientele is up by 50% because my pub is just a nice place to be.”
Council Leader Neil Stock said: “My understanding is government legislation exists to control unauthorised advertising, although in this case I am not convinced that the rainbow flag would necessarily constitute a breach of those regulations.
“However, the pub is in the heart of a conservation area and if there were three flags flying, of any description, then I can quite understand why the parish council would have needed the issue looked into.
“Where I feel we let ourselves down was by sending out a strongly worded letter without contacting Mr Culham face to face to talk things through and explain to him what options were available to him. That has made us appear rather insensitive and ignorant - and it is not the way I want the Council to be exercising its enforcement powers.
“We have apologised for that and offered to arrange a meeting to discuss this whole matter with him - which he has accepted.”