Perth and Kinross Council has dropped its bid to make the Scottish Orange Order pay for staging a march in Perth.
The June 27 procession had been in doubt since the local authority took the unprecedented step of ordering the order to apply and pay for a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO).
A legal battle was expected after the order insisted it would take the council to court to ensure it did not have to pay for the TTRO. But less than three weeks after making the request, the council has dropped its demand and is to pay costs towards the TTRO.
Executive officer of the Grand Orange Lodge Scotland Robert McLean said: “The council took a decision to issue an order demanding there is a TTRO placed on the parade.
“All we ask for is that we are treated the same as every other organisation because anyone else that uses the roadways within Perth and Kinross, the council pays for it.
“At the end of the day, the council has a legal responsibility to make sure that, once they pass the parade, that the parade passes off safely.”
The order had alleged it was being discriminated against, after a Freedom of Information request it submitted revealed no other parading organisation or pipe band had been asked to obtain a TTRO.
The council’s decision came the day before a controversial Orange Order event was due to be staged in Glasgow. More than 27,000 people signed a petition opposing today’s event.
Mr McLean said: “If you are going to do something, do it right and be fair and do the same for everyone, don’t just discriminate because it’s the Orange Order.
“If anyone does a Freedom of Information request, like we did, they will see that for every TTRO in Perth and Kinross, the council has paid for them all.”
The application for permission was on behalf of the St Andrew’s True Blues LOL (Loyal Orange Lodge) 209 Perth.
The plan is for 40 people to march from Tulloch Park on Saturday June 27 to lay a wreath in Perth, accompanied by a 30-strong Castlemilk Flute Band.
A council spokesman said: “Perth and Kinross Council will cover the cost relating to the advertisement of the Temporary Traffic Restriction Order in line with the rest of Scotland; however, the Orange Order may be liable for any costs associated with signage and barriers.”