The Scottish town trying to stop the Orange Order as appeal over march looms

The Orange Order wants to mark the opening of a new lodge in Stonehaven with a 200-strong parade on Saturday – but has met stiff resistance in the town

A Sheriff will decide on Friday whether Stonehaven’s bid to stop a 200-strong Orange Order march from parading through the streets on Saturday has been successful.

The Orange Order is appealing a decision by local councillors to prohibit the march, which is due to mark the opening of a new lodge in Stonehaven.

Around 200 Orangemen from across Scotland and members of the Pride of The Rock Flute Band from Dumbarton are due to travel to Stonehaven for the event.

Members of the Orange Order take part in the annual Battle of the Boyne celebrations in July 2022 in Glasgow. PIC. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The Orange Order said it intended to hold a “peaceful and respectful” procession but there has been stiff resistance to the prospect of the parade.

Around 10,000 people have signed a petition against the march that, it claimed, risked “poisoning our peaceful environment”. About 120 formal objections were also submitted.

The town’s RNLI branch declined a donation of £850 from the Dumbarton group, and several bars and businesses have said they will close for part of the day if the march goes ahead.

Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire has resisted the arrival of an Orange Order parade on Saturday but a final decision will be taken on Friday at Aberdeen Sheriff Courts as to whether the event will go ahead. PIC: Contributed.

"We are just not a town that is used to flutes,” said Councillor Wendy Agnew, whose motion to Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee to prohibit the parade was unanimously supported by members.

Councillor Agnew (Conservative), who has represented Stonehaven since 2003, added: “I have never in my time as a councillor had so much anxiety in the town. We are a town that embraces all religion and we are not bigoted in any way . To me, they [the Orange Order] are sectarian.

"It is not fair on peaceful people in Stonehaven of all religions and all denominations. This is just not Stonehaven’s way.”

The application for the march was rejected on the grounds of undue strain on the police, the impact on local businesses and the unease in the community over the event.

Ahead of the meeting, the Orange Order rejected a suggested condition the march should not play music within 100m either side of a place of worship on the route from Stonehaven Town Hall and Dunnottar Cemetery.

It also claimed a police request that it should apply for a temporary traffic regulation order went against article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which sets out the right to peaceful assembly.

The new Stonehaven lodge will have around 40 members, according to reports.

David Walters, executive officer for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said around 200 people were still expected in Stonehaven on Saturday to mark the opening of the new lodge in Stonehaven Town Hall, regardless if the appeal was successful or not.

He claimed the online petition was circulated to different websites “not particularly friendly to our institution”

He added: “They only had 120 people write in to object to the parade out of a population of 11,000 . That speaks volumes.”

“The Orange institution and the local lodge in Stonehaven have done nothing to instigate any of those fears in the community.”

On concerns that the Orange Order caused division in communities, he added: “The Orange institution is a protestant fraternity. People will not like that for various reasons. It is like most organisations you might not like what they do, and that is fine, we don’t expect everyone to like what we do. We expect respect and the freedom to parade under the (European) Convention on Human Rights.”