Belfast Twelfth route: Leading orangeman and former Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers backs decision to maintain current route

It begins at Carlisle Circus, runs through the city centre and out the Malone Road to 'the field' at Barnett Demesne near Shaw's Bridge. After speeches and lunch, the parade then takes the same route back to Carlisle Circus.

In July, a leaked internal report revealed the organisation was considering shortening the route and axing the gathering at Barnett Demesne.The proposal followed criticism about anti-social behaviour and excess drinking.

Instead, a ‘circuitous route’ beginning and ending at Carlisle Circus with no 'field' was being considered.

Although the route has varied over the past century, the current route has been in use for some 20 years.

Alderman Rodgers said: "I think this decision to keep the current route was the correct one because I firmly believe that we can ensure that there's no unruly behaviour.

"Last year was a lot better than the previous year. There's no question about that, because a number of the lodges were determined to stop any misbehaviour or people getting intoxicated.

"They did this by making wide appeals to the public and I know the leadership plan to continue making improvements on this."

The decision to retain the route was a democratic one taken by lodges across the city, he said. "The vast majority of people that have spoken to have the same opinion - that the route should remain the same."

He acknowledged that there is a problem with litter on the Twelfth. "But it is not just the Twelfth. It happens at all major sporting events and all parades. We are a careless people."

He did acknowledge however that the Twelfth attracts many more people than most other events.

However, he said that the clean up operation for it by the council is not dramatically different from that for St Patrick's Day celebrations. "No, there's not a major difference," he said.

One orange source told the News Letter the order had asked the city council to put out extra bins on the Twelfth for the public to use, but that the council declined, saying it was easier to sweep litter from the ground. The council did not respond to a request for comment on this on Friday. "Yes, I've heard that continuously and repeatedly and I understand that is true," Mr Rodgers added.

In July 2016 the Irish News reported that both 12 July and St Patrick's Day show similar spikes in crime, based on Freedom of Information figures from the PSNI.

The paper examined seven years of police crime statistics on both public holidays and compared these with the average daily number of crimes. And they suggested that when comparing crime rates on St Patrick's Day and the Twelfth, there is not much difference between them.Both attracted around a third more than the daily average of crime. The Twelfth showed more crime on a single day but St Patrick’s Day had more over a 36-hour period.