LUTON’S rip-roaring St Patrick’s Day celebrations have been permanently dampened after police refused to bend to a year-long community campaign.
Irish people in the Bedfordshire town were left dismayed last March when the authorities banned floats from its main street because of terror laws.
But despite the pleas of leading community figures and the local council leader, the ban will remain in place this year and for the future.
“We had asked the police to be lenient just for the day, but now we have given up our hope,” said Noelette Hanley, chief executive of the Luton Irish Forum.
“There is no point. We have had lots of support from the council, which has approached the police on a couple of occasions, and we feel like this is completely exhausted now.”
The police’s refusal to help left Ms Hanley warning of a quieter and more expensive St Patrick’s Day this year, when it will celebrate its 15th anniversary.
She also accused police of giving in to local extremists like the English Defence League and radical Muslim groups.
“I think the police feel like they have to conform to the crowded places policy and they are worried about setting a precedent if they renege on that,” Ms Hanley said.
“They are erring on the side of caution because Luton has been on the side of some extremist groups.”
The dispute concerns bollards that block off the town’s busy George Street area to vehicles, making it impossible for the St Patrick’s Day Festival to incorporate a number of floats popular in previous years, including its main sound system.
Police say the bollards, which were installed in 2012 as part of a Home Office anti-terror scheme, cannot be lowered for public safety reasons.
Luton Borough Council leader Hazel Simmons intervened on behalf of the Irish community before Christmas when it became clear that the Forum’s negotiations were unlikely to succeed.
“It has always been a successful well-arranged and safe event that we, and I am sure the police, would like to see continue,” she wrote to Bedfordshire Police chief constable Colette Paul.
The Labour councillor added: “I do feel there could be some flexibility for an event that has been happening for many years.”
But again police refused, citing the need for “robust enforcement” of an earlier agreement on the bollards that it claims could unravel if St Patrick’s Day floats were allowed through the town.
“A number of organisations and businesses have already had their “special cases” for vehicle access declined in order to preserve the integrity of the scheme,” a Bedfordshire Police spokesperson said.
Ms Hanley said it was a “big concern” for the charity that the parade’s bill has increased by £2,000 as organisers try to replace the music that would have been provided by a mobile sound system.
It follows a £1,000 cut in the charity’s Irish Government funding this year and news that Luton Borough Council will be reducing its annual grant by £1,000 per year in coming years.
But Ms Hanley was determined to strike a confident tone, insisting that “the show must go on” as the Forum tries to recruit new acts
“There is a certain level pressure on us to make it worthwhile for people to come out,” she added.
