Dale Vince insists Stroud District Council have “misinterpreted” the regulations regarding the flying of the Palestinian flag on his headquarters at Ecotricity.
Mr Vince has revealed Stroud District Council planning officials have asked him to apply for planning permission to keep the flag hoisted, but he believes this ruling is wrong.
The Ecotricity chief told Stroud Times: “We appreciate the support of the Greens on the council and understand that the planning department are just doing their job – but we feel they have misinterpreted the regulations – UK recognition is not required for the flag of a country to be flown without planning permission. We’re caught between wanting to resolve this with a simple planning application and between wanting to establish the position for other people and companies in our country – we are aware that in other areas Palestinian flags have been ordered to be taken down, incorrectly in our view.”
A spokesperson for SDC revealed the council can take action if a planning application isn’t submitted: “If no application is made for the retention of the flag, the council will consider the expediency of taking enforcement action. This would be taken if the advert was found to be damaging to the appearance of the area or resulted in a public safety issue and it was in the wider public interest to seek its removal.
“After being made aware of the flag on the front of Ecotricity building in Stroud, and reviewing planning regulations, we have invited the company to submit an application for advertising consent.
“In England, certain flags may be flown without the need for express consent from a local planning authority. Those not needing consent include national flags of recognised states, flags of international organisations of which the UK is a member, and flags representing local authorities or public services. However, the Palestinian flag is not listed among those with automatic or deemed consent.
“Consequently, display of this flag on a building is treated as an advertisement under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007, primarily to ensure that displays don’t negatively impact public safety or amenity.
“We have contacted Ecotricity to explain the relevant regulations and invited the company to consider submitting an application to regularise the display.
“We are committed to applying planning regulations fairly and consistently, and we are happy to provide guidance to anyone seeking clarification on advertisement consent requirements.”
Forest Green and Mr Vince have been flying the Palestinian flag freely at the home of Forest Green Rovers since 2022. On this the council added: “No enforcement referral has been received regarding the flying of flags or other allegations on the display of unauthorised adverts at the New Lawn.”
