Decision on march today

Councillors will decide today (Wednesday) whether a controversial Republican march can go through Rutherglen this Saturday.

A group calling themselves the Independent Republican Bands Scotland have applied for the march which will go down Croftfoot Road, onto Mill Street, Roger Drive and the Main Street before dispersing in the Rutherglen Industrial Estate.

They say the parade, which has a proposed start time of 1.30pm, would involved 200 participants and six bands.

The Reformer understands Rutherglen Police have no objections to the march, but have raised concerns about the route.

It is though talks are continuing between the police and organisers over both the route and length of the procession.

The Reformer has been contacted by a number of people concerned about the event. Complaints range from the possibility of public disorder to the content of the parade itself.

One local resident said: “This is just an excuse to glorify terrorism, it has no place on the streets of Rutherglen.”

But despite it being understood the council received a number of complaints, only two of them have been deemed “competent” by officers.

A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “Two competent objections have been received together with a report from Police Scotland.”

Inspector Jim Gillespie at Rutherglen Police, said they had no concerns about potential clashes between rival factions on the day.

He added:“We are in discussions with the applicant in relation to the proposal.”

The Reformer attempted to contact the Independent Republican Bands Scotland organisation through an email on their Facebook page, but no-one replied.