Tauranga's custom alternative flag snatched from the Takitimu Drive flagpole about lunchtime today, has been relocated.

The person who claimed to be the man seen breaking into the flagpole's halliard hatch announced he was going to drop it off at a Papamoa house this afternoon.

The stolen flag, as it appeared last week. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Even if it is returned in one piece, there may not be a flag flying from the flagpole on Monday.

Council property staff were checking the rigging this afternoon and don't know yet if there will be any flag flying from the flag pole tomorrow.

Mayor Stuart Crosby is unsure if the 3m by 6m custom made flag will fly again.

'We have retrieved it and it will be back in the office tomorrow, undamaged,” says Stuart.

'By tomorrow we should receive independent legal advice as to whether we can continue to fly it or not. If it says ‘yes' we will continue to fly it, if it says ‘no' then we won't. My intuition says that flag won't go up again.”

The council's legal authority to fly the alternative flag is under challenge by Mount Maunganui resident Rob Paterson who says the flagpole's resource consent is for the New Zealand national flag only.

'As soon as it's safe to put back up, the national flag will go up and stay up, permanently,” says Stuart.

'The only reason the council was flying them alternately was to create debate. And I encourage people to vote. Personally I found it useful to see at a scale where you can have an opinion on it.”

It's not known yet who took the flag, but there are reports of people photographing the event says Stuart.

'It might come out sooner or later.”

The flagpole this afternoon. Photo Tracy Hardy.

Rob Paterson says the alternative flag's removal is 'poetic justice.”

He deneid taking it himself.

He's opposes the council flying it because he argues the resource consent for the flagpole only permits the New Zealand flag to be flown. He knows because he opposed the flagpole from the beginning as an unnecessary cost to ratepayers and submitted on the flagpole at the resource consent hearing.

He's made public correspondence between himself and the council over the issue, where he says flying the alternative flag is an illegal act by the council – which is also responsible for policing the flagpole consent.

'Tauranga Council is the consent holder, and also the consenting and enforcement authority yet it saw fit to use one of its TCC staff members to justify the inane conclusion that the silver fern referendum flag is in some way an alternative NZ National Flag – it is not,” says Rob.

The flagpole was once property of Woolworths Cameron Road but was taken down when Countdown took over. Peter Farmer representing the Tauranga Community Flagpole Trust was the instigator of the original flagpole project, says Rob. That Trust eventually paid for the flagpole relocation and reconstruction on the Takitimu Drive roundabout.

But the $5000 a year maintenance cost for the purchase of new flags, banners, repairs and maintenance, is met by ratepayers says Rob.