Building light colour change request

We are supporting local, national and international groups and organisations by regularly accommodating requests to change the colour of the lighting in Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford.
As some of the structures are listed buildings, they are already lit up in a white light, which is best for highlighting their special architectural features. However, we can change the colour of the lights to help promote and support national and local events and campaigns.
Our LED lighting system, which lights these structures reduces our energy costs and saves on energy bills whilst allowing the structures to be lit up in a variety of colours and combinations.
To apply for a light colour change, you must be:
- permitted to apply for the light colour change
- a non-political organisation
- a not for profit organisation
Planned and pre-approved light colour change dates
International Holocaust Memorial Day
- Date: 27 January
- Colour: Purple
Clatterbridge - Go Green
- Date: 3 until 5 February
- Colour: Green
Purple Flag status awarded - Promoting Chester's clean and safe night-time economy
- Date: 17 until 19 February
- Colour: Purple
World Encephalitis Day
- Date: 22 February
- Colour: Red
Commemoration of the start of the Ukraine war
- Date: 24 February
- Colour: Blue and yellow
International CVS Awareness Day
- Date: 5 March
- Colour: Blue
Marie Curie - National Day of Reflection
- Date: 23 March
- Colour: Yellow
Earth Hour
- Date: 26 March
- Colour: White from dusk. Switch off from 8.30pm for an hour. White until midnight.
St George's Day
- Date: 23 April
- Colour: Red and white
King Charles III Coronation
- Date: 4 until 9 May
- Colour: Red, white and blue
VE Day Anniversary
- Date: 8 May
- Colour: Red, white and blue
International Nurses Day
- Date: 12 May
- Colour: Blue
International Fibromyalgia Day
- Date: 12 May
- Colour: Blue
Mental Health Awareness Week
- Date: 15 until 21 May
- Colour: Green
Manchester Arena Bombing Anniversary
- Date: 22 May
- Colour: Orange
Volunteers' Week
- Date: 1 June
- Colour: Red
Carers' Week
- Date: 5 until 11 June
- Colour: Blue and white
Tourettes Awareness
- Date: 15 June
- Colour: Teal
King Charles III official birthday
- Date: 17 June
- Colour: Red, white and blue
Armed Forces Day
- Date: 24 June
- Colour: Red, white and blue
Ellesmere Port Pride 2023 (Ellesmere Port buildings)
- Date: 25 June
- Colour: Various
International LGBT Pride Day 2023
- Date: 28 June
- Colour: Various
NHS Birthday
- Date: 5 July
- Colour: Blue
Go Blue for Meso - Action Mesothelioma Day
- Date: 7 July
- Colour: Blue
Samaritans Awareness Day
- Date: 24 July
- Colour: Green
World Hepatitis Day
- Date: 28 July
- Colour: Purple
England Women's Football World Cup Quarter-Final Game
- Date: 12 August
- Colour: Red and White
England Women's Football World Cup Semi-Final Game
- Date: 16 August
- Colour: Red and White
Chester Pride
- Date: 19 August
- Colour: Various
England Women's Football World Cup Final Game
- Date: 20 August
- Colour: Red and White
Ukraine Independence Day
- Date: 24 August
- Colour: Yellow and blue
Emergency Service Day
- Date: 9 September
- Colour: Blue
Reserved dates
- Date: 11,12,13 September
- Colour: Various
Anniversary - Battle of Britain Day
- Date: 15 September
- Colour: Red, white and blue
NHS Organ Donation Week
- Date 16 until 17 September
- Colour: Pink
Recycling Week
- Date: 18 until 24 September
- Colour: Green
International Day of Older Persons
- Date: 1 October
- Colour: Purple
Sons and Daughters Month Fostering
- Date: 2 until 8 October
- Colour: Orange
Baby Loss Awareness Week - Wave of Light
- Date: 15 October
- Colour: Pink and blue
Developmental Language Disorder Day
- Date: 20 October
- Colour: Purple and yellow
National Adoption Week
- Date: 16 until 20 October
- Colour: Green and red
Chester Rotary Club - In support of World Polio Day
- Date: 24 October
- Colour: Purple
Purple Tuesday - Championing accessibility across west Cheshire
- Date: 31 October
- Colour: Purple
Colour the World Orange for CRPS/RSD Awareness
- Date: 6 November
- Colour: Orange
Reclaim the Night, March and Vigil
- Date: 10 November
- Colour: Purple
Remembrance Sunday
- Date: 12 November
- Colour: Red
King Charles III birthday
- Date: 14 November
- Colour: Red, white and blue
Road Safety Week
- Date: 13 until 19 November
- Colour: Yellow
Purple Lights for pancreatic cancer
- Date: 16 November
- Colour: Purple
World Health Organisation's World Antimicrobial Resistance Week
- Date: 18 until 24 November
- Colour: Blue
Christmas lights switch-on
- Date: To be confirmed November
- Colour: Various
White Ribbon Day - International day for the elimination of violence against women
- Date: 25 November
- Colour: White
Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect. End violence against women campaign
- Date: 25 November
- Colour: Orange
National Grief Awareness Week
- Date: 2 until 8 December
- Colour: Orange
Human Rights Day
- Date: 10 December
- Colour: Orange
CWVA Volunteer Awards
- Date: 12 December
- Colour: Orange
What information do I need?
You'll need to provide us with the following details if you want to request a light colour change. Please provide as much detail as possible.
- the name of the event/campaign
- the main aims of the event/campaign
- confirmation of permission to submit the application
- contact details
- where you would like the lights to be changed and what colour
- dates and a timescale of the colour change
- a brief description of the event/campaign
- details of any planned media coverage of the event or campaign.
You should apply at least six weeks before the date you would like the colour of the light to be changed. Applications made later than this date may be refused due to the limited physical resources available to manually change the colour of the light at shorter notice.
What happens next?
When you submit your light colour change application you will receive an automated email. The email will thank you for your application and provide you with a unique reference number linked to your application. Please keep this email and reference number as a record of your application.
Your application will be processed by our Communities and Engagement Team, who will aim to get back to you with the outcome of your request in 18 working days.
Checks will be made to ensure:
- your application meets the light colour change criteria
- the lights are available to be changed on the dates you have requested
- the resources are available to ensure the lights can be changed on the date you have requested
Once the checks are complete, you will be informed by email if we have been able to secure approval for your light colour change request.
Fees
If approved, there will be no charge to the applicant organisation as the cost to carry out this work will be funded by us, unless otherwise agreed. The costs are restricted purely to the provision of staff and equipment to change the colour of the lighting for the required period. For the avoidance of doubt no other costs either directly or indirectly associated with your application will be met by us.
- non-political organisations
- not for profit organisations
- political organisations
- for profit organisations
- celebrations or commemorations for private groups, families or individuals
- events that contradict the aims, priorities and work of the council
- events that would be detrimental to the wellbeing of our residents
- events that focus wholly on lobbying local, regional or national government, legislators, the judicial, officials or constituents
- promotion of matters of significant controversy
- promotion of unlawful activity or a change in the law
- submissions from organisations based outside the UK
We reserve the right to cancel any light colour change approval, at any time, due to any unforeseen circumstance at its absolute discretion, without penalty. Applicants will always be informed of any cancellations at the earliest possible opportunity.
Approved light colour changes will start at approximately dusk on the date you request and will stop at approximately midnight on the date you request.
- Light Colour Change Requests, Communities and Engagement - Chester, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Lache Community Centre, Hawthorn Road, Chester. CH4 8HX
- By email: chesterlocality@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk