Fury as council cancels Remembrance Sunday parade over ‘health and safety fears’ | UK | News
People expressed their anger after Sunday’s Remembrance parade was canceled due to health and safety issues. According to information obtained, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the parade site in Upton, Wirral, Merseyside.
One local said the cancellation was “heartbreaking and disgusting”. The secretary of the local Royal British Legion (RBL) branch said the decision was “out of our hands”. According to reports, the branch said they appealed to the local municipality for help paying public liability insurance and asked the police to assist with road closures.
Accordingly TelegramThe branch claimed a Wirral Council official cited the crash at Liverpool FC’s championship ceremony in May as a reason for caution and wrote “we need to keep everyone safe”.
The newspaper reported that Merseyside Police told them the force was not responsible for parade escort or traffic management.
A spokesman for the Labour-run council said: “In this case we were working with the local group in Upton and we needed them. [to] Provide details of any road closures they are requesting and confirm they have carried out a risk assessment and public liability insurance.
“Due to the special circumstances, the Council has waived the costs normally charged for such closures. Unlike the police, the Council is legally required to provide a certain minimum amount of advance notice for road closures and unfortunately, a road closure cannot occur if the legally required notice is not given.”
“Wirral Council is committed to supporting community-led events and regrets that the Upton parade cannot go ahead this year.”
The spokesperson added: “We are confident that we could have helped facilitate a safe and respectful event had the necessary information been provided.”
RBL is encouraging locals in Upton to attend other nearby parades and says it hopes the parade will take place next year.
A spokesman told The Telegraph that RBL was “grateful for all the support” it had received from local authorities and police forces to ensure Remembrance marches could go ahead.
Remembrance Sunday is celebrated on November 9.
National commemorations will be held at the Cenotaph in central London.
