Go-Ahead For Orange Order To March Past Ardoyne Shops

The Parades Commission has given the green light for the Orange Order to march past the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast on Saturday, 01 October.

Orangemen have not been permitted to walk along the route since 2013.

A spokesperson for the Parades Commission said: "The agreement between the Orange Order and CARA presents an opportunity for resolution of the decades-long parading disputes at the Crumlin Road.

"The Commission's assessment is that there is evidence of support within the local north Belfast communities to achieve the agreement's desired aims.

"The initiative raises expectations for improved community relations in local north Belfast communities and may address the severe disruption to the life of the local community caused by parades and protests.

"The Commission reflected fully in its decision concerns about the sustainability of the agreement, the consultation process around it, and the objections to the proposed 01 October parade as part of the agreement.

"The Commission has considered that the agreement represents new information and evidence sufficient to vary, for the proposed parade on 1 October 2016, its longstanding legal response to the parading dispute on the Crumlin Road.

"The Commission has determined that the proposed morning parade on 1 October 2016 as part of a wider parading agreement may proceed under specific conditions along its notified route of the Crumlin Road."

(CD/LM)