Council / Planning consent sought for town hall flag poles – 20 years after they were installed
SHETLAND Islands Council has applied for retrospective planning permission for flag poles outside Lerwick Town Hall – which were installed around 20 years ago.
The planning submission said not applying for consent when they were installed was an “oversight” at the time.
The six white poles were installed next to the A-listed building around the year 2000, and they are sometimes used on special occasions.
They are located on the north and west boundary walls.
The installation of the poles was made in line with the Historic Scotland heritage policy document Managing Change in the Historic Environment: External Features. However, no planning consent was sought at the time.
A planning submission adds: “Because SIC intend to further promote Lerwick Town Hall as a visitor attraction and events space, it was deemed that flying flags would complement the building’s landmark character and highlight its local significance while reaffirming its own identity and that of the cultures, events and communities represented by each of the flown flags.”
A spokesperson for Shetland Islands Council said the retrospective application “simply seeks to ensure that planning consent is in place for the A-listed building”.
“There’s no plans to make any extra use of the flagpoles, which see several flags flown on occasional days of the year including Remembrance Sunday,” they said.
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