Share your views: a community flag for Kinross-shire?
We want to hear your views on whether there should be a competition for a Kinross-shire community flag. You can find information below and a link to our survey.
As a historic county, Kinross-shire has a strong and distinctive identity, rooted in its landscape, history, and communities. A Kinross-shire community flag, designed by the public and chosen by public vote – as part of a campaign engaging with community groups and schools – would provide a shared symbol to express that identity clearly and confidently.
A community flag can strengthen local pride, support place branding, and help promote tourism and cultural activity. It gives community groups, events, businesses, and residents a simple visual way to signal connection to Kinross-shire – whether on websites, signage, publications, or at local celebrations. Importantly, it would be inclusive and non-political, free for anyone to use and owned by the community as a whole.
What is a Community Flag?
A community flag is a shared civic symbol representing a historic county and its people. It sits comfortably alongside national and local authority flags and does not replace them. These flags are typically created through open competitions and public votes, ensuring legitimacy, visibility, and long-term community support. Flags in Scotland are regulated by law. A community flag would be legally recognised, open for anyone to use.
Have other areas in Scotland adopted community flags?
Yes. Many areas in Scotland have community flags. Islands such as Skye (2020), Orkney (2007) and Barra (2017) adopted community flags, as well as mainland areas including Kirkcudbrightshire (2016), Berwickshire (2023), Banffshire (2024), Bothwell (2025) and Girvan (2025).
Does Kinross-shire have a flag already?
No. The historic Kinross Burgh and Kinross County councils each had a coat of arms. These now belong to the successor entity, Perth & Kinross Council (PKC) and are still used in some capacities today. These crests can technically be flown as ‘banners’ by PKC but are not for public use. A Kinross-shire flag could incorporate elements of these.
Why does Kinross-shire need a flag?
As well as local pride, community flags can help tourism and businesses in an area by keeping the County of Kinross on the map. Kinross-shire has a unique identity, but like many historic counties, local government and other administrative boundaries can sometimes weaken this identity.
The Campaign for Historic Counties for examples argue that due to these ever-changing political or administrative boundaries, it’s important to retain a static historic identity.
How would a flag be designed and chosen?
It is proposed that a public competition would be run. As part of this would be a public engagement campaign, speaking to community groups and schools so they can learn more about heraldry and flags. This would allow people to submit their proposals (you don’t have to be an artist, just have a good idea). The submissions would then be shortlisted (probably 4 or 5 designs), professionally drawn and then presented for a public vote. The designs would be checked for legal compliance and officially registered with Scotland’s flag authority (the Lyon Court).
You can watch a video about the recent Berwickshire Flag Competition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JurQDOZxAs&t=117s]
Who could use a community flag? Would it include Glenfarg, for example?
Anyone. Although Kinross County (Kinross-shire) broadly follows the old pre-1974 county council area which followed the historic boundaries, there would be no fixed geographical area or territorial restriction associated with the flag, so anyone can choose to use it.
How would a competition work?
The competition would run over a period of about 4 months, very roughly as follows:
Month 1: Publicity and public engagement with community groups and schools, etc
Month 2: Design competition – people submit their ideas
Month 3: Short-listing. Designs are reduced to 4 or 5 and professionally re-created. This ensures that it’s the idea that is important rather than one’s artistic ability. It also ensures that the design people choose will be the one they get.
Month 4: Public vote. Designs presented to the public and votes submitted, followed by an official unveiling following legal formalities.
What do you think? Please tell us.
We would love to hear your views on whether or not Kinross-shire should have its own flag: https://forms.gle/rqL5PGxEGPNVFutE7
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Lyon Court (flag regulator for Scotland): https://courtofthelordlyon.scot/ and flag expert: https://www.vexillologist.scot/
British County Flags: https://britishcountyflags.com/
Flag Institute: https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/
Campaign for Historic Counties: https://realcounties.com/
