Flying the Ukrainian flag above Alton Town Hall will be a subject for debate at Alton Town Council’s next full council meeting on April 9.
On March 4 Tony Souter, a major local provider of aid to Ukraine since it was first attacked by Russia in February 2022, asked town clerk Pat Harris if Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag could be flown on top of the council offices as a show of support to Alton’s Ukrainian community.
She said that the matter had been put on the council agenda for next month - and in the absence of any comment from councillors Mr Souter chose to let local democracy run its course.
He said: “We've decided that there is no mileage in pursuing this further until the full Alton Town Council meeting on April 9. Everyone is just stonewalling.”
The Ukrainian flag was raised above 10 Downing Street at the beginning of the war and has remained there ever since.
Mr Souter had felt it was possible to fly Ukraine’s flag above the town hall having read Flying flags: a plain English guide on the www.gov.uk website.
But Cllr Andrew Joy, who represents Alton Town on Hampshire County Council, told him there were a few things which needed to be considered.
In a letter to Mr Souter, Cllr Joy said: “I think this is about flags which are permissible in principle, but which are nonetheless required to meet conditions such as positioning on flagpoles - either in terms of relative height or position if there are two or more in a row.
“While special permission may not be required on private land, I think it is clear that on public land - and particularly government land, whether local or national - there needs to be agreement.
“On that basis, the town council could agree to fly another nation’s flag, but it would have to be alongside or below - ‘inferior to’ - the Union Flag. There would have to be agreement, and in the case of Alton Town Council I suggest that would require the council to decide.
“It would need to take account of any sectarian or political considerations, and it would certainly demand debate to understand the nuances and risks of dividing public opinion. It should be evocative and unifying, not provocative and/or divisive.”
Cllr Joy said the Downing Street Ukraine flag-flying was “symbolic of national and governmental support for a democratic country” but warned that not every foreign flag would be so broadly welcomed by the public in the United Kingdom.
He told Mr Souter: “There are understandable strongly held views over Gaza, but I am sure you would agree that there would be some trip-hazards in flying Israeli or Palestinian flags.