This Sunday's Orange march at Drumcree, Co Armagh, has been barred from entering the nationalist Garvaghy Road for the fourth successive year. The determination, made by the Parades Commission yesterday, was criticised by unionists and welcomed by nationalists.
The commission has prohibited the parade from entering Obins Street in Portadown on its outward journey to Drumcree church. In respect of the return route "the parade is prohibited from proceeding beyond Drumcree Parish Church or entering that part of the notified route which includes the entire length of the Garvaghy Road", it said.
The commission said it recognised there had been some attempts at accommodation between nationalists and the Orange Order in recent months. However, it was "dismayed that a combination of high levels of mistrust and poor communication continues to militate strongly against the interests of both the [Orange] district and the people of the Garvaghy Road in resolving this issue".
"What is badly needed in Portadown is a real attempt to address the legitimate concerns of others, and a preparedness to accommodate those concerns," the commission said.
The former first minister, Mr David Trimble, said he was disappointed with the decision. "I know that there were before them evidence of some positive and very positive developments in recent months in that area," he said.
Mr George Patton, an executive officer of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, said the authorities had embarked on "a policy of cultural genocide against the loyalist community of Northern Ireland".
Mr Denis Watson, the Secretary of the Grand Lodge and a DUP MLA, said the order was "fed up but not surprised". He would not rule out issuing a call for Orangemen from around the North to come to Drumcree to demonstrate but said any protest should be peaceful.
Loyalist paramilitaries in Portadown expressed no surprise at the decision. They said they would "wait and see" what happened on Sunday. "However, there comes a time when enough is enough and there is a feeling that time is now," said one.
The SDLP MLA for the area, Ms Brid Rodgers, welcomed the decision. "The entire community is sick of the disruption and despair which the marching season continually visits on the people of Northern Ireland.
There is only one way for the issue of this march to be resolved once and for all and that is for dialogue between the residents and the Orange Order," she said.
The area's Sinn Fein MLA, Dr Dara O'Hagan, said the ruling was "the only decision possible".
"It is only through respect and recognising the rights of nationalists living in Portadown that we can move the situation forward."
Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, said he welcomed the commission's decision as "the only possible outcome".
"The decision is based on the criteria laid down in the legislation," he said.
The RUC and British army would not comment on the security implications of the decision but it is likely the fortifications and barbed wire which have characterised the hill at Drumcree in recent years will appear shortly.