Access to parts of Birmingham city centre will be restricted today due to the planned demonstration in the city.
The English Defence League will be holding a protest in Centenary Square, whilst a separate community event, ‘Unity – Loving the Difference’, will be held in Chamberlain Square.
As a result of the policing operation for both events, access to Victoria Square will be restricted with police cordons in place around the square. Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who is leading the policing operation, said: “We understand that the policing operation may cause some inconvenience to members of the public who intend to visit attractions around Victoria Square on Saturday, however the cordons are unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience they may cause, but we have to balance the desires of everyone involved with the safety requirements for the event.”
Under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, conditions have been placed on both events, and organisers have been informed.
The conditions placed on the English Defence League demonstration will be:
• The protest shall take place in Centenary Square.
• The duration of the protest will be no longer than two hours commencing no earlier than 1pm and ending no later than 3pm.
Conditions have also been imposed on the Unity – Loving the Difference event, and any other demonstrations which may arise.
Those conditions will be:
• The event, and any counter demonstration, will take place in Chamberlain Square.
• The event will be no longer than three and a half hours commencing no earlier than 12.30pm and ending no later than 4pm.
Birmingham Safety Advisory Group, made up of West Midlands Police, council and other emergency services representatives, confirmed this week that the site agreed for the EDL protest has been altered to Centenary Square to meet with safety requirements.
As on previous occasions, police have no power to ban a static protest and have emphasised their intention to facilitate that right.
ACC Beale added: “We want people to feel reassured and in response to community concerns, we will be staging a large-scale operation on the day to ensure that everyone who comes to the city centre, be it to take part in the protests, or to go about their day to day business, can do so in safety.
However, he confirmed that police do share some concerns about the event. “West Midlands Police do not welcome this protest as we recognise that many people feel anxious about it being in the city so soon after the disturbances in August. We urge people to go about their normal business and not allow the protest to affect them or undermine Birmingham’s reputation as a harmonious city with many different cultures living alongside each other in peace. The policing operation will strive to ensure it remains that way. Any criminal or public order offences will be robustly dealt with.”
While there are no traffic restrictions currently proposed, it may be necessary to implement these during the day.
