THE Saltire on Dunbar Town House will give way to other flags to mark special events, it has been decided.

The town’s community council finally decided last Monday night to follow in the footsteps of The Brunton in Musselburgh, which implements a similar policy.

Controversy surrounding the flying of flags in the town started ahead of the opening of the John Muir Way, which took place on April 21 last year.

Both John Muir and HM Queen Elizabeth II share the same birthday – April 21 – and it was felt appropriate that both the Union flag and Saltire should be flown to mark the occasion.

A second flagpole was added to the High Street building after planning permission was granted in February 2014. That meant a Saltire could fly alongside the Union flag when then First Minister Alex Salmond officially opened the John Muir Way that April.

However, it created further problems, with the community council then facing the decision of which flag to lower when special events, such as Merchant Navy Day or a visit from a twinning group, took place.

The long-running issue came to a head on Christmas Eve when the Saltire was temporarily removed to allow the flying of the Stars and Stripes to mark 100 years since Muir’s death.

The decision to remove the Saltire instead of the Union flag attracted comments from across Scotland and even drew the attention of a Russian news agency.

Stephen Bunyan, chairman of Dunbar’s community council, said a solution had been found.

“Brunton Hall has two flag poles and the Saltire and the Union flag fly side by side,” he said. “Other flags can be flown if the Saltire is replaced. The Saltire gives way if we want to put something else up. I propose we simply accept that as our policy.” The community council backed that idea.