Public processions, marches and demonstrations

If you are planning a public procession, march or parade in South Lanarkshire, you need to give us at least 28 days’ notice. This allows us and Police Scotland to plan for safety, traffic and local disruption.

Some processions do not need 28 days’ notice. These include:

• funeral processions organised by a funeral director
• processions set out in an Order made by Scottish Government Ministers

We can only accept late notification in exceptional circumstances. This may include a march organised in response to a sudden event, such as a factory closure or major announcement.

Your right to parade

Organisers have a legal right to march. You do not need a permit or licence to hold a procession.

However, you must give us a formal notice of your intention to march. This is a legal requirement.

A procession can only be stopped if Police Scotland objects and there is evidence of a serious risk to public safety or serious public disorder. If there is no such evidence, the procession can normally go ahead.

How we consider procession notifications

We look at all relevant information before making a decision. This includes:

• advice from Police Scotland
• any risks to public safety
• the likelihood of serious public disorder
• the impact on local communities

Police Scotland monitors all processions. If disorder occurs, we may take this into account when considering future notifications for similar events.

We must make sure that any conditions or restrictions are fair, justified and do not interfere unnecessarily with the right to march.

Decisions are made by:

• a sub‑group of the Licensing Committee, or
• the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources, in consultation with the Head of Administration and Legal Services

Get updates about processions

You can join our opt-in list to receive regular updates about processions. This can help you plan ahead if events may affect your area, travel or business.

You can choose to receive updates by email or letter.

To join the list, email us with:

• your name and address
• your phone number and email address
• the areas of South Lanarkshire you are interested in
• how you would like to be contacted

Contact us

Email licensing@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

Postal address:
Administration and Legal Services
Floor 11, Council Offices
Almada Street
Hamilton ML3 0AA