Rotherham Conservatives call for end to Remembrance day parade red tape

A notice of motion to be heard by the next full council meeting calls on the Labour administration to: “set out a clear process for community event organisers to apply for temporary road closures for Remembrance Day Parades,” and “share the costs associated with road closures”.

Councillor Emily Barley, leader of the Rotherham Conservatives, will move the motion during the full council meting on September 29.

The motion states that “no information or guidance from RMBC is publicly available” for organising a parade, and the costs for “smaller scale event organisers may also be prohibitive”.

The motion adds: “Remembrance Day Parades are a feature of acts of commemoration up and down the country, but in our Borough they are under threat.”In the past, road closures to allow parades to go ahead in villages across the Borough have been facilitated by South Yorkshire Police, but a change in police policy means this will no longer be the case.

“Instead, local event organisers will need to apply to RMBC for a temporary road closure, provide a traffic management plan, and use volunteers or a traffic management company to facilitate closures.

“At present, the process for doing so is opaque and no information or guidance from RMBC is publicly available. The costs for smaller scale event organisers may also be prohibitive.

“Unless the Council takes action, Remembrance Day Parades are unlikely to go ahead in villages where they usually take place.”

The motion calls on the council to “make all reasonable efforts to assist community organisers and enable Remembrance Day Parades to go ahead this year.”