AN orange walk through the centre of Alexandria has been given the green light to begin playing music 30 minutes earlier than permitted by the council’s code of conduct.

The Dumbarton Orange and Purple District No. 27 submitted a request to West Dunbartonshire Council’s licensing committee to allow the Pride of the Rock Flute Band to start their music procession through Alexandria at 8.30am on Saturday, July 2.

The council’s licencing codes usually prohibit the playing of music in a public place before 9am, stating “no band shall play or music shall be played before 9am and after 9pm.”

But that provision has now been waived for this year so that the Dumbarton groupcan meet up with the larger parade in Glasgow later that morning.

Simon Wade, who is organising the march, told the committee: “The main event happens in Glasgow with all other parades leading up to it.

“Because of TRANSMT that’s happening, and I think there is a pop concert at Hampden, the council and Police Scotland have got together with the Grand Lodge and they have managed to move things about to accommodate everything.

“The upshot of this is that we have to be at Kelvingrove Park at the back of ten, instead of 11.40am.

“To do that we have to leave Alexandria slightly earlier and that’s the reason we have put in for this.

“We don’t want to do this but it’s to do with the big picture.”

A similar application was brought before the licensing committee in 2018 where Members decided to grant the request from Dumbarton group to allow the playing of music from 8.30 am.

Community Party councillor Jim Bollan, not speaking as part of the committee, objected to the plans, stating that people living in care homes and residential properties near the route would be disturbed by the earlier than usual music being played.

He told the chamber: “The last consent to vary the times was four years ago.

“Things have changed dramatically in Alexandria town centre, on the march route, since then, with three new housing developments for the elderly, the disabled and those with poor mobility in place.”

Despite reservations from meeting chair Councillor Lawrence O’Neill around no play zones around sheltered housing, the motion was granted, with Cllr O’Neill advising the chamber it would be something they would look at in more detail for future years.

He said: “I will move a motion that I am prepared to allow it this year, but as part of the discussions, consideration is given to a potential re-routing (of the march) or no play zones within that particular zone.”