Visitors to Ongar could soon be treated to the spectacle of buildings flying specially-designed flags bearing the town emblem.

Under proposals by the Ongar Consultative Group the flags would be displayed as widely as possible around the town in an effort to ensure Ongar stands out in the minds of tourists and visitors.

But according to OCG chairman Edwyn Gilmour who first proposed the scheme, the flags need not be displayed all year round.

He suggested they could be used to their best effect on special occasions such as town fetes, parades, and summer festivals.

Said Mr Gilmour: "The way I see it, the flags would not be on view all the time because they would then get weathered and tired-looking.

"But if they were displayed by agreement on special occasions then I think there would be some impact to it."

Mr Gilmour initially floated the idea for the flags at a meeting of the OCG when members, including four parish councillors, agreed that "something distinctive" was needed to raise the town's profile.

Said Mr Gilmour: "I thought Ongar could do with something which would make the town stand out in people's minds.

"I wanted something for Ongar whereby visitors could later say, 'That's the place where they have such and such a feature.'"

And commenting on the motives for the proposals he said: "At a parish meeting eight years ago I said that the future of Ongar was probably more in tourism than anything, and that the parish council should think about how to attract visitors into the town.

"At the moment this is just one suggestion, and there may be others still to come."

Commissioned around five years ago by Ongar Parish Council and since used on its note paper, the town emblem features a Norman castle and a spire similar to that of Greensted Church.

Following the Ongar enhancement scheme, the emblem is currently displayed in the High Street above the seating near the Co-op building.

The former owner of Essex House, where he ran Essex Sound and Screen, Mr Gilmour is now retired from business. Married with three grown-up children, he has lived in Ongar since 1963.

Readers of the Gazette with an idea for raising the profile of Ongar, or with views on the town flag proposals, are invited to write to us at our usual address. Please head envelopes or e-mails 'Ongar Town Profile'.

The Ongar town emblem, whose design is proposed for use as a town flag, on display in the High Street.

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