Request to Fly a Flag at Daneshill House
You can ask Stevenage Borough Council to fly a flag at Daneshill House to recognise an occasion of local or national significance.
We consider requests in accordance with our Flag Flying Policy, taking account of community relevance, existing commitments, planning requirements, cost and safety.
How we fly flags
Daneshill House has two external flagpoles:
- Primary Flagpole: Normally flies the Union Flag throughout the year, subject to official instructions and operational safety.
- Secondary Flagpole: Used for other approved flags and observances.
Our annual flag-flying programme
Our programme includes:
- 27 January: Holocaust Memorial Day: Union Flag at half-mast.
- Second Monday in March: Commonwealth Day: Commonwealth flag.
- 23 April: St George’s Day: St George’s flag.
- June: Pride: An approved Pride flag design, with display dates confirmed annually.
- June: Armed Forces Week: Armed Forces flag, with display dates confirmed annually.
- 3 September: Merchant Navy Day: Red Ensign.
- 9 September: Emergency Services Day: Emergency Services ‘999’ flag.
- 11 November and Remembrance Sunday: Remembrance: British Legion Poppy flag.
Armed Forces Day falls on the last Saturday in June. Armed Forces Week begins on the preceding Monday. We confirm the flag’s raising and lowering dates each year.
Pride flag displays are arranged around the agreed Armed Forces Week period.
National instructions, mourning arrangements or operational circumstances may require changes to the programme.
Requests for other occasions
We may also consider requests to recognise other occasions, including:
- 8 March: International Women’s Day.
- 31 March: Transgender Day of Visibility.
- 5 July: NHS anniversary.
- 23 July: Historic County Flags Day.
- 24 October: United Nations Day.
- 25 November: White Ribbon Day.
- 3 December: International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
- Stevenage Day or another agreed civic occasion: Dates vary.
These occasions are considered under the policy and are not automatically included in the annual programme. Recognition may involve an approved flag display, communications or another suitable activity.
How to make a request
Complete our flag-flying request form available below, or email facilities.helpdesk@stevenage.gov.uk.
Please provide:
- Your name and contact details.
- The organisation or group you represent, if applicable.
- The name and description of the flag, including an image of its exact design.
- The requested display dates and duration.
- The reason for your request and its relevance to Stevenage or a national occasion.
- Whether you are requesting a one-off display or annual recognition.
Approval for one display does not automatically approve future displays.
When to apply
Please submit your request:
- At least 14 days before the proposed display, where no new application for advertisement consent is required.
- At least 10 weeks before the proposed display, where a new application for advertisement consent is required.
We will check the planning requirements and let you know if additional time is needed. Planning decisions can take longer, so these notice periods do not guarantee that a display can proceed.
Late or urgent requests may be considered, but we may be unable to accommodate them.
How we assess requests
We will consider:
- The occasion’s local or national significance.
- Its relevance to the community and the council’s values.
- Existing bookings and competing observances.
- Any planning requirements.
- The availability and condition of a suitable flag.
- Funding, operational arrangements and safety.
Requests will be decided by an authorised decision-maker under the Flag Flying Policy.
We aim to notify you of a decision within five working days where possible. If further information or planning advice is needed, we will explain any delay.
Where approval is subject to conditions, we will explain what must be resolved before the display can proceed.
Who supplies and pays for the flag?
We will first check whether the council already holds a suitable flag.
If your request is approved and a suitable flag needs to be purchased, the council will meet the purchase cost and Facilities Management will arrange the order.
Funding and expenditure must be authorised before final approval. Where funding is unavailable, we may decline the request or offer another form of recognition.
Flags purchased by the council will remain council property for future use.
Please do not purchase or send us a flag unless you have agreed arrangements with Facilities Management in advance.
What happens if dates overlap?
We apply the following order of priority:
- Applicable national mourning, Royal protocol and official instructions.
- Approved single-day observances.
- Approved week-long observances.
- Approved month-long campaigns, using the remaining available dates.
Where observances have equal priority, an authorised decision-maker will determine which display takes precedence.
An approved display may need to be changed or postponed. We will contact affected applicants and, where possible, offer another date or form of recognition.
Flags we currently hold
The council’s inventory includes:
- Armed Forces Day.
- British Legion Poppy.
- Commonwealth.
- D-Day.
- Emergency Services ‘999’.
- France.
- Germany.
- Hertfordshire.
- Investors in People.
- Israel.
- Intersex-inclusive Progress Pride.
- New Zealand.
- NHS.
- Philippines.
- Progress Pride.
- Rainbow Pride – standard six-stripe design.
- Red Ensign.
- Royal Air Force.
- Sri Lanka.
- St George’s.
- Stevenage Coat of Arms.
- Transgender.
- Ukraine.
- Ulster Banner.
- Union Flag.
- United Nations.
- Wales.
- Zimbabwe.
Facilities Management will confirm availability, condition and suitability when assessing a request. All displays require approval under the policy.
Further information
Read our Flag Flying Policy for the full arrangements.
National guidance is available from:
For questions or help making a request, email facilities.helpdesk@stevenage.gov.uk.