Parades Commission says annual upcoming Whiterock Orange march is 'high risk' as 200 protestors set to gather

The Whiterock parade in west Belfast has been dubbed "high risk" by the Parades Commission, and it has ruled that banners relating to World War One must remain furled for part of the route.

The contentious part of the route would see the parade going from the Woodvale area at the far western edge of the Shankill, through the peace line gates at Workman Avenue and onto the main Springfield Road, which passes through Catholic/nationalist/republican-dominated housing.

It would then go along Springfield Road for about half a mile, before turning into the unionist/Protestant/loyalist-dominated Highfield estate and looping back towards the Shankill.

In spite of the name, the parade does not go on to (or even near) the Whiterock Road itself.

Instead the name stems from Whiterock Orange Hall, which the parade passes, on the outskirts of Highfield.

Start time is listed as 2.15pm.

There will be about 950 participants, and the following 13 bands are on the 11/1 form:

Shankill Old Boys; Shankill Star; Crumlin Old Boys Flute Band; Whiterock Flute Band; Sons of Ulster Old Boys; Sons of William; Pride of Ardoyne Flute Band; Shankill Protestant Boys; The Billy Boys; Carrickfergus Defenders; Sons of Ulster; Miller Memorial Flute Band; Shankill Road Defenders.

The commission said that "the parade organiser has consistently emphasised the traditional significance of this part of the route to the No 9 District LOL, while the Springfield Residents’ Action Group (SRAG) has stated that tensions are caused by the parade’s past conduct on the Springfield Road, the continued refusal of the organiser to engage with residents".

It said that in the past banners bearing the names Samuel Rockett and William Hanna had been carried and that they are "both perceived to have associations with paramilitary organisations".

Rockett's name has appeared on UVF murals and CAIN lists him as a UVF man killed by the UDA during feuding in 2000, while Hanna is listed by CAIN as a UVF man who was shot by the army accidentally in 1978; their names have often appeared on the paraphernalia of the Pride of the Ardoyne Flute Band.

Meanwhile the commission notes that "the Springfield Residents Action Group has notified a protest of 200 participants located at the Springfield Road" (although a similar notified protest last year was withdrawn at the last minute).

It has set conditions which include the following:

Instead of going through the peace line gates, the parade must cut through a nearby business estate;

There shall be "no colour parties of any type, or flags, clothes, instruments, badges or emblems displayed which could be seen as associated with any paramilitary organisation";

Only hymns are to be played in the Springfield Road vicinity;

The only flags that can be flown are lodge banners, the Orange Standard, the Union flag, Ulster Banner, Scottish saltire, the flag of Wales, the flag of the 36th Ulster Division, and the flag of the 14th Royal Irish Rifles (YCV).

Despite acknowledging that these last two flags "relate to World War One", the commission says that both "must remain furled on that section of the parade route from the traffic lights on the roadway to the Invest NI site at its junction with the Springfield Road to the junction of the Springfield Road and West Circular Road roundabout".

The ruling from the commission mimics the one given last year.

• Titanic submersible crisis: Movie director James Cameron recounts the time he escaped catastrophe when his controls crashed during ultra-deep dive

• WATCH: Previously unseen footage released showing the first time human eyes caught sight of the wreck of HMS Titanic