Parades Commission to hold ‘opinion meeting’ in Ballymena

The first of the six meetings will take place at the Braid Centre in Ballymena on May 25 and will take the form of a ‘drop in session’ between 7-9pm.

Each meeting is open to the public and Commissioners are keen to hear from local people if they think there are improvements which could be made to the work of the Commission.

Parades commission Chairman Peter Osborne said: “As a relatively new Commission, heading into the main part of the parading season, we are keen to get out onto the ground in local areas and discuss parades with local people. Our hope is that we will also be able to meet local elected representatives in each area as well.

“These meetings are a chance for us to meet with people outside of the context of individual, disputed parades. It is important that people are able to talk to Commissioners in an informal way and in a comfortable environment.

“Later this year we will write to the Secretary of State to make recommendations on any possible improvements which could be made to the way in which we do our business. That might involve the way parades are notified to the Commission or the way we issue our decisions. We are prepared to look at all of those issues.”

Parades Commission member Delia Close urged local people to attend the meeting.

“The parades issue has been less high profile in Ballymena in recent years but of course there are still issues around parades and the way the Commission operates,” she said.

“I know not only from my work as a Commissioner in recent months but from my own experience over recent years, that people feel passionately about parades in this area. The meeting on the 25th May is the chance to air those views and meet the Commission face to face. “