Local councillors back plan for Caithness flag
CAITHNESS councillors have come out unanimously in favour of North of Scotland Newspapers’ Fly the Flag for Caithness campaign.
Eight of the 10 met on Monday at their latest monthly Caithness business meeting to discuss the idea of the county being given its own flag and not one of them was against it. Councillors Neil MacDonald and David Bremner did not attend.
The campaign was launched to help reinforce the civic identity of the county at a time when local government executive powers and decision-making have become increasingly centralised by Highland Council. It is also believed a flag can have spin-offs for the holday trade in the far north.
Caithness civic leader Gail Ross believes the move will be excellent for tourism and will help restore the identity of Caithness as a distinct area which she feels has been undermined by changes in the local authority workings.
“The feedback we’ve been getting has been great and it would be good to use it in the same way Orkney and Shetland do,” she said.
“The only thing we need to find out about – a little note of caution – is that Orkney and Shetland are both local authorities in their own right but Caithness isn’t. Our local authority region is Highland.
“We’ll need to find out from the Lord Lyon whether we are allowed to do it.”
Mrs Ross said more needs to be done to check the feasibility of the project, what it is going to cost and how it is going to be used.
“There are still lots of questions but it’s great how it’s generated discussion,” she said.
The council’s ward manager David Sutherland will contact the Lord Lyon to ask for guidance on how to proceed.
Landward Caithness councillor Gillian Coghill said it is not often all councillors agree on something.
“I think it’s a great idea and have thought that since the start,” she said.
“It will be wonderful to generate a sense of identity because if we can put our stamp on things like food or anything made up here – everyone will know where it came from.”
Mrs Coghill believes the country is the most centralist in the world and she feels it is time to decentralise to a local level.
“The flag will give us the standing to say: ‘Leave us alone – we know what we’re doing’,” she said.
“The far north just gets forgotten and I think this will give us a sense of purpose, the same as Orkney has.
“The first step has been taken and I’m really glad so now hopefully we’ll get it through. We’ll speak to colleagues down in Inverness and, you never know, maybe other areas will be interested in getting their own flag too.”
Her landward colleague Matthew Reiss feels there is nothing to lose by it and there might be some considerable gains to be had.
“Other areas have their own flag, for example look at Brittany with its very eyecatching flag,” he said.
The bid for Caithness to get its own flag is set to go before a meeting of the full council in Inverness in October.