THE Hertfordshire county flag is this week flying in pride of place above the offices of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has ordered English county standards be flown alongside the Union flag outside the department’s Eland House HQ in Victoria.

They are being flown a week at a time, and Mr Pickles raised the Hertfordshire flag yesterday (Tuesday).

The ceremony was also attended by county council leader Robert Gordon, and local government minister and Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps.

Cllr Gordon said: “The Hertfordshire flag is an important symbol of a county that is full of contrasts – just 12 miles from London with a balance of thriving modern towns and picturesque villages set in beautiful countryside.

“Flying the flag at the start of 2011 marks an important local anniversary, 1,000 years since the first written record of Hertfordshire in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

“Hertfordshire County Council is very proud to see its flag flying at the DCLG headquarters as part of the celebration

of England’s counties.”

Mr Shapps said the occasion was a proud moment for him personally.

He said: “Hertfordshire is my home county – where I was born and raised – and is home to my parliamentary constituency.

“Like many of its residents I associate strongly with its identity, and flying the county’s flag over the department where I am now a minister is a very proud moment.

“Counties have played an important part in our history and continue to feature in everyday life; I am pleased we are recognising that.”