The Parades Commission has given an 'agreed' Orange Order march past Ardoyne this weekend the go-ahead.
The green light came after the order and Crumlin and Ardoyne Residents’ Association (Cara) reached a deal last week.
Another nationalist group, Greater Ardoyne Residents’ Collective (Garc), which was not consulted about the negotiations, has applied to hold a protest march and rally involving up to 500 people in the area on Friday evening.
It also intends to hold a separate protest during the parade on Saturday morning involving up to 150 people.
The deal aims to end a stand-off dating back to a Parades Commission decision to ban Orangemen from returning past nationalist homes in Ardoyne on July 12 2013.
Since then loyalists have held almost daily protests and established a protest camp at Twaddell Avenue which has cost around £20m to police.
In a determination issued yesterday, the commission confirmed that three Orange lodges and two bands could march along the disputed stretch of Crumlin Road at 8.30am on Saturday.
It has ordered that only hymn music is to be played between the junction of Woodvale Road and Twaddell Avenue and the junction of Crumlin Road and Hesketh Road.
The only flags to be flown include the Union flag, Northern Ireland flag and Orange standards.
Under the deal the Twaddell protest camp will then be removed and a “moratorium” placed on future return parades on the Twelfth.
A spokesman for the Parades Commission said that in its assessment there is “evidence of support within the local north Belfast communities to achieve the agreement’s desired aims”.
“The initiative raises expectations for improved community relations in local north Belfast communities and may address the severe disruption to the life of the local community caused by parades and protests,” he said.
The commission revealed it received representation from Garc which expressed opposition to the agreement “on the basis that Cara has no authority to represent the interests of the Ardoyne community, and that the agreement is contrary to the express wishes of the community, which is opposed to all loyal order parades through republican/nationalist areas”.
Sinn Féin assembly member Gerry Kelly last night called on Garc to call off its planned march and claimed some members of the group “don’t want a resolution to parading and are associated with anti-peace process political parties”.
“The proposed Garc parade is clearly aimed at raising tensions, damaging community relations and provoking confrontation,” he said.
A spokesman for Garc claimed a return parade was “dead forever” until it was “resurrected” through last week's deal.
“From a residents' perspective what has raised tensions is the fact Sinn Féin and the UVF have imposed an unwanted parade on the people of this area,” he said.
“GARC are giving people a legitimate form of protest against the imposition of parades in the area.”
