“Outrage in Havering as St George’s Day Scout Parade Faces Possible Cancellation Over £9,000 Traffic Management Requirement”

The Reform Romford Member of Parliament has hit out at plans to cancel this year’s St George’s day parade. He told the Havering Daily: “I am outraged to hear that the traditional St. George’s Day Scout parades in Havering may be cancelled this year due to bureaucracy! This is totally unacceptable and I will do everything in my power as Romford’s MP to fight this!

For as long as I can remember, scout groups in Romford have proudly gathered in Collier Row on the Sunday closest to St. George’s Day to celebrate the the patron saint of scouting and of England, St George. This long-standing tradition brings our borough together and is a much-loved by our local community.

I have been informed that scout groups have now been told the parade may not be allowed to proceed unless a traffic management company is employed to arrange temporary road closures, with costs reportedly in the region of £9,000. For Scout organisations that operate as charities and rely on volunteers and limited funds, this would clearly be a very significant and prohibitive expense.

It would be outrageous if this long-standing celebration of St. George’s Day had to be cancelled because of unnecessary red tape.

I have written to the Leader of Havering Council urging him to review this matter urgently and find a sensible and proportionate solution so that the parade can go ahead safely, as it has done for many years.

The Scout movement across our borough do tremendous work for young people in Romford and Havering. I hope common sense will prevail so that this annual parade and celebration can continue so that people of all ages in Romford are permitted to celebrate St. George’s Day as they always have! “

A spokesperson for Havering Council, said:

“Havering Council recognises the long tradition of the St George’s Day Scout Parade and understands how important it is to the community.

“We want local events to take place safely, and we work closely with organisers to help them meet the legal requirements that apply to all processions using the public highway.

“The Metropolitan Police have made it clear to both the Council and event organisers that, due to decreasing resources and budget constraints, they are no longer able to support parades by carrying out temporary road closures or using police vehicles to block roads, as they have done in previous years.

“The Metropolitan Police, along with the emergency services and relevant Council departments, sit on Havering’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

“The SAG reviews event plans to ensure organisers understand what is required for their event to take place safely and legally.

“Due to public safety concerns, the Council cannot endorse an event that involves participants walking in the road without an appropriate traffic management plan and a valid Traffic Management Order in place.

“The Council has a statutory duty under Section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to ensure public safety at such events, and these requirements apply consistently to all organisers.

“The SAG Chair has responded to the Scouts on this matter and invited them to attend a meeting to provide full clarity on what the law requires and what is needed for the Council to support the parade.”

Hornchurch and Upminster MP Julia Lopez wrote on social media

“Thank you to residents and local community leaders who’ve been in touch to flag the understandable worry that the St George’s Day parade in Havering might not be able to go ahead this year following a £9,000 cost request for marshalling.

This parade has been taking place in Havering since 1929, making it a long-standing community tradition with the centenary approaching in just three years’ time. For a charity like the Scouts, finding £9,000 would be extremely difficult and understandably raises real concern for volunteers and trustees.

On hearing this, I immediately contacted the Council Leader and officers to see if this could be sorted out. Havering typically waives road closure costs for our Remembrance parades, Armed Forces Day and the two St George’s Day parades, which is why this situation has caused alarm.

It seems the issue is changes to the Met Police’s policy on traffic marshalling for pre-planned community events. Encouragingly, I understand that a Met Police inspector will now be working with the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to try to resolve the issue so the parades can go ahead as normal – quite right. I have contacted our local Neighbourhood Policing lead this evening to flag the level of community concern and hope that this can be resolved ASAP.”

Please note The Havering Daily has contacted the police centrally at New Scotland Yard for a comment and they have still to respond.

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