Decision due on Apprentice Boys' march

A decision by the North's Parades Commission on the Loyalist Apprentice Boys' march through the lower Ormeau Road in Belfast …

A decision by the North's Parades Commission on the Loyalist Apprentice Boys' march through the lower Ormeau Road in Belfast on Saturday is expected today.

The commission delayed its decision, which was expected on Monday, because it had received further representations on the Ormeau march, which is a "feeder" parade for the main parade in Derry.

A ruling on the Derry parade was also delayed as talks between the Apprentice Boys - brokered by a group of businessmen under the umbrella of the city's Town Centre Management Group - are due to continue tonight.

Although the commission is only permitted to consider each parade in isolation, it is believed commissioners were aware that an agreement on the parade in Derry is linked by nationalist residents there to the Ormeau march.

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Today is seen as the last practicable day for a decision as the commission feels there should be time for those affected to apply for a judicial review.

Yesterday, the commission imposed restrictions on several loyalist and nationalist marches throughout the North.

Several other Apprentice Boys' feeder parades on Saturday were affected. These include those in Bellaghy, Co Derry; Dunloy, Co Antrim; and Armagh city and Keady, both in Co Armagh. All of these parades were rerouted away from nationalist areas.

The commission also placed conditions on a nationalist march in Lurgan on Friday. The Lurgan Martyrs Flute Band was prohibited from playing music for a section of its march through a contentious area of the town.

Last year there were riots both in Derry and on the lower Ormeau after the commission allowed the parades through the disputed sections. On the Ormeau Road there were violent scenes as police cleared a sitdown protest of nationalists from the road in order to force the parade through.

In Derry, on the night of the march, millions of pounds of damage was caused and as many as 70 jobs lost as a direct result of rioting and arson when over 100 petrol-bombs were thrown.

Despite the fact they now travel by bus, the Apprentice Boys in Belfast see the lower Ormeau as part of their traditional route.