Parades will effectively be banned from Glasgow city centre and the policing costs of all demonstrations publicised under groundbreaking new proposals unveiled today.
Other radical plans aimed at reducing the 500 marches a year within the citys boundaries include encouraging organisers to consider alternatives to processions and insisting on events with 1000 or more participants assembling at and progressing to a public park.
All participants, from the Protestant Orange orders to Irish republican groups and trade unions, will have to march four abreast to allow quicker progress and reduce time and disruption to the public.
"Return" processions, where groups march back to where they started from, could be axed to minimise disruption, while small parades which feed into a main procession could be curbed as Glasgow City Council moves to develop standard routes,
It is also proposed that no-one taking part in a parade shall be allowed to carry ceremonial swords or weapons of any description without permission from the police or city council.
The plans, which go out to consultation for the next four weeks, will form the core of the citys policy on parades and processions, which the council wants in place by November.
Strathclyde Police will issue its own report on the rising number of parades within the force area and the associated spiralling costs in the coming weeks.
Parades and processions cost the force around �1.8 million annually, with the policing bill for an individual march ranging from �500 to around �600,000 for the large Orange Order parade in early July.
Strathclyde is facing a financial crisis, with 400 frontline officers being axed in the next 18 months due to cost pressures.
Over the last year, the council has held discussions with a range of parties aimed at pulling together Scotlands first definitive local government policy on parades, sitting within the framework of existing Scottish and European legislation.
Although parades cannot be banned on cost grounds, the city council intends to examine the impact of "the displacement effect" when officers are diverted from other duties to staff a procession when deciding if an event gets the go-ahead. It will also consider if "the containment of risks" places an excessive burden on the police.
The council writes off around �100,000 from the cost to itself from processions but said it plans to pass on "every last penny". The proposals argue for a presumption against parading through the city centre and claim that "at this critical time for the economy any potential disruption to the city centre is a major factor which must be taken into account".
Last year, more than 70 parades went through the city centre. A policy of ending all return parades, which usually occur in the evening when many followers are intoxicated by alcohol, would cut by 25% the total number of parades.
Under current legislation the organisers of processions cannot be required to meet the costs of policing but the estimated bill to the police and the number of police hours will be published by the city council "to improve the transparency of the process".
Organisations, from major bus firms through to the Boys Brigade and the obvious targets of the policy the Grand Orange Lodge, Apprentice Boys, Grand Black Chapter and Cairde na hEireann have until September 28 to respond.
Councillor Jim Coleman, who is spearheading the policy, said: "Were looking for considered, pragmatic feedback. It is in the interests of the marching organisations that we make progress, because the current position has become untenable.
"What we have done is try to reach a balance where we protect peoples democratic right to demonstrate; but without overwhelming the rights of the wider community."
A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said: "While we remain happy to sit down and discuss our parades in a spirit of co-operation, we are aware of our rights and will not see those rights curtailed in order to satisfy the political will or prejudice of a handful of city councillors."
Marching: The numbers and the costs
* Across 2009-10 there were 497 parades within Glasgow 124 of which were "return" parades 252 by the Orange Order, 43 by The Apprentice Boys, 42 by the Black Institute, 27 from Irish Republican groups, 15 from bands and 116 from other organisations. Of these, 72 went through the city centre.
* Across 2008-09 there were 340 parades, excluding the main July Orange march in Glasgow, requiring a police presence, which accounted for 19,000 police hours and a cost of �1.2 million. The July Orange parade alone cost �596,000.
* Small parades, such as Orange Order church processions, cost around �500 to police. The 2009 May Day parade cost �20,000, a Cairde na hEireann parade the following month cost �34,000, while nine separate Loyalist and Republican processions on May 16 cost �14,500.
* From April to August last year, there were 163 parades in just two police divisions, A and B, accounting for 12,000 man hours and at a cost of more than �400,000.
* Since former Strathclyde Chief Constable Sir John Orr attempted to get to grips with parades, the number within the force area has gone up. Glasgow hosts more Loyalist and Republican parades than the Belfast and City of Derry council areas combined.
* In autumn 2009, Glasgow Household Survey, around two-thirds of residents said they would support a reduction in the number of Orange processions and Republican parades in their local area 67% and the city centre 66%. Half said they would back an outright ban on parades in the city centre, with only 17% opposing such a ban.
Article taken from the Herald Scotland
