Hepburn Shire Council passed a four-year policy earlier this month that flags would no longer be flown from the Creswick or Clunes town halls due to unsafe stairwell access.

Instead, the policy relegated the flags to the footpath in front of the Creswick Hub and from the Clunes Warehouse.

However, Cr Henderson said everyone in Creswick wanted the flags back on the town hall, and the policy was “not set in stone” for four years if a solution could be found in the interim.

Cr Henderson, whose background is in building and construction, investigated the Creswick Town Hall stairwell himself to work out how much repairs would cost.

He said the stairwell was “very tight and steep” with a precarious platform, neither of which were OHS-compliant.

“There’s no way I would send staff up there...the staff safety comes first,” he said.

“You wouldn’t expect anyone else to go up there.

“The flagpole has rotted down back to the base. It’s not just a problem of getting another flagpole up there, it’s the problem of how do you (get staff up and down to) get it to half mast.”

Cr Henderson said he had come up with three possible solutions – a remote-controlled flagpole, a pulley system or a pre-fabricated spiral replacement staircase.

He said the council could possibly use solar power to light the flags at night.

“I don’t think it’s an insurmountable problem,” he said.

“It’s a bit more difficult than I thought, but it’s just working out a way.”

Cr Henderson said volunteer labour could be another option in helping return the flags to their home.

“Creswick’s the home of volunteers. There are a lot of people who are passionate about the town hall,” he said.

“We’ve got the capacity to do things. If the council isn’t of a mind to do it, perhaps we can get a crew in on a voluntary basis. That’s one of the options.”

Clunes Town Hall is currently undergoing restoration work after receiving a $100,000 grant from Heritage Victoria, which was announced last August.