Council U-turn to allow Welsh Independence march on Llwyn Isaf as Administration issue statement to ‘set record straight’

Wrexham Council have changed their minds and will now allow a march to take place on Llwyn Isaf on Saturday following a review.

Yesterday we reported how organisers of the All Under One Banner ‘March for Independence’ event had been refused permission to use Llwyn Isaf  as the council “would consider the Independent March a political march” and thus it contravenes a council protocol from 2011.

The ban was explicit from Wrexham Council not only telling organisers the booking would be ‘not permitted’, but went as far as requesting organisers to ‘please change your advertising of the March to reflect our decision’.

Following yesterday’s article Wrexham.com is aware of several formal and informal meetings to discuss what exactly could be done over the matter, with the council appearing to be in a quandary over how to enforce an unenforceable policy, or if they should set a possibly concerning precedent to ignore a long standing councillor-backed protocol and allow the march.

The detail of the protocol itself has also come into focus with some councillors now looking to bring it back for review. The current protocol was passed by a 2011 Executive Board (Made up of Ron Davies, David A. Bithell, R.J. Dutton, Mark Pritchard, Alun Jenkins, Arfon Jones, Joan Lowe, Neil Rogers, Rodney Skelland, Michael Williams – with others present noted as Marc Jones, David Kelly, Carole O’Toole and Paul Rogers. Votes and views expressed are not recorded anywhere.) and has been in place, and referenced regularly by Wrexham Council ever since.

Following further meetings today Wrexham Council have finally published a public response to the issue, opting to ‘review’ the decision.

The council indicate they have taken on board organisers initial arguments over Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which provides freedom of peaceful assembly, a point that appears to have been ignored first time around.

The European Convention of Human Rights came into force in 1953.

The statement from Wrexham Council reads:

“We have reviewed the application to use Llwyn Isaf on Saturday 2 July. In line with our policy and usual approach, we would not usually agree the booking of Llwyn Isaf for marches and rallies.

“However, we recognise the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and in the circumstances we will not be taking any action to prevent the use of Llwyn Isaf on Saturday.”

Although we were told the decision to ‘not permit’ the march was entirely operational and not political, a joint statement has also been issued by the Administration of Wrexham Council titled “Setting the record straight”.

It is jointly signed by Independents Group Leader and Council Leader Mark Pritchard, Deputy Leader David A Bithell and Leader of the Conservative Group Cllr Hugh Jones.

It is copied below in full:

Setting the record straight

Setting the record straight about the march for Welsh independence taking place in Wrexham on Saturday, July 2, organised by AUOB Cymru.

A joint statement from:

• Councillor Mark Pritchard – Leader of Wrexham Council
• Councillor David A Bithell – Deputy Leader of the Council
• Councillor Hugh Jones – Leader of the Conservative Group

“As political leaders at Wrexham Council, we want to make it clear that we fully support the right for Welsh independence campaigners to hold a peaceful march this weekend.

“The march has been organised by AUOB Cymru for this Saturday, July 2, starting from Llwyn Isaf green outside the Guildhall.

“The event has been in the headlines this week after claims the council was trying to ‘ban’ the march. This isn’t the case, and we want to set the record straight.

“An official request from the organisers to use Llwyn Isaf was turned down, and this was based on a council protocol that states the green should not be used for political rallies.

“The protocol was put in place in 2011 due to concerns about extreme-right groups – who were very active back then – wanting to use Llwyn Isaf for marches and rallies.

“The policy was supported by all political groups on the council at the time, and was seen as a common-sense approach to help prevent potential community tensions and disorder.

“However, the council has never said it would try and prevent the independence march this weekend, and we – as political leaders at the council – have never made any attempt to ‘ban’ or stop the march going ahead.

“We fully support everybody’s right to march and express themselves in a lawful and democratic way, and hope everyone who attends the event has an enjoyable day. We wish them well.

“As politicians we’ve been on marches ourselves over the years, and we believe the right for people to peacefully express themselves and gather together is a vital part of democracy.

“To sum up, we have no problem with the organisers using Llwyn Isaf green – we never have – and as councillors we’ve never intervened or made any attempt to stop this event.

“We hope everyone has a good day, and that they spend some money in our local shops and businesses, and have a positive experience in Wrexham.”

Top pic: Llwyn Isaf earlier today.