New guidance to help local authorities celebrate historic counties and boost community pride has been launched by the Government.
The guidance encourages councils to fly county flags, place road signs to mark the boundaries of historic counties and design flags for those counties without one.
Northern Powerhouse minister, Jake Berry said: ‘Our new guidance helps local authorities celebrate historic counties, their shared heritage, culture, history and our great nation.
’In government, we are throwing our full weight behind historic counties through proudly flying 50 iconic county flags in the heart of Parliament Square for Historic County Flags Day on 23 July.’
The County Councils Network said it welcomes the Government promoting the significance of counties, both economically and socially.
'At the same time, it is important that this guidance recognises the importance of existing county boundaries in enabling county councils to deliver efficient local services, such as transport and highways, and economic growth,' said Cllr Martin Hill, County Councils Network devolution spokesman.
'County councils should retain local discretion over how they use their history and identity to ensure that their 26 million residents remain clear about who is providing the services they use each day.'
Photo: flickr / MHCLG