Public processions
If you are organising a public procession, you must submit a notice of proposal to the council in advance.
In Scotland, any moving event in a public space can be classed as a procession. This includes groups of people or vehicles moving together in an organised way, such as parades, marches or protests.
You have the right to organise a public procession under the Human Rights Act 1998. However, you must notify us so that we can review the details of your procession. If necessary, we may set conditions to prevent risks to health and safety, public disorder or damage to property.
Before submitting notice of proposal
There are some things that you need to know before you submit a notice.
Giving notice
You must give at least 28 days notice before you plan to hold your procession. If you can, please give more notice.
If you are planning a large procession, we recommend submitting your notice at least 3 months in advance. This is because it may need to be considered by committee.
Risk assessment
We recommend that you complete a risk assessment form (PDF 150KB) to submit along with your notice. This will help to:
- Identify potential dangers
- Evaluate the level of any known risks
- Decide if anyone is at risk
- Plan steps to reduce or manage risks
- Decide if further measures need to be taken to make sure your event runs safely and smoothly
Police Scotland and the council may carry out separate assessments and share these with you to discuss.
If you believe that your procession carries a high risk, you can contact us to discuss if we can find solutions to help reduce or remove the risks.
Fee
There is no fee for submitting a notice of proposal.
How to give notice
Complete the notice of proposal form (PDF 189KB) and return it to us at least 28 days before you plan to hold your procession.
Please send your completed form and, if possible, your risk assessment by email to licapps@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or by post to:
Head of Service
Legal and People
Business Services
Aberdeenshire Council
Viewmount
Arduthie Road
Stonehaven
AB39 2DQ
Please note that physical mail is only checked once a week.
What happens next
It can take up to 4 weeks to process your notice of proposal. If you don’t hear from us within a reasonable time, please contact us at licapps@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.
We will share your notice with Police Scotland and the council's Roads Team for comments. Police Scotland will then contact you to discuss and agree the event's route and timings.
We will assess any risks within two weeks of receiving your notice and risk assessment. Remember to keep a copy of these forms and bring these with you to any meetings which we may hold about your proposal.
Your notice will be published on our licensing register, to give the public a chance to comment.
After reviewing all responses, if there are no issues, we will issue a letter to confirm that we have no objection to your procession taking place.
You must follow the agreed route, timings, and any conditions set by the council or Police Scotland.
Upcoming processions
To help keep local communities informed, we publish information about all approved procession notifications on our licensing register. To view current or upcoming processions, please select the procession option under activities.
Sign up to updates
We keep a list of individuals and organisations who want to get updates about upcoming public processions in their area. These updates can help you plan better around events that might affect you, such as traffic problems.
To join the list, contact us by email at licapps@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or post at:
Head of Service
Legal and People
Business Services
Aberdeenshire Council
Viewmount
Arduthie Road
Stonehaven
AB39 2DQ