Loyalist Twaddell protest camp's inhabitants in north Belfast are not for moving

Perched on a sectarian interface in north Belfast, the Twaddell camp has been at the eye of the parading storm that has swept across Northern Ireland for more than a year.

Debate has raged over the costs of policing the camp and nightly protests in the area since its inception in July of last year.

And as the PSNI begins the process of implementing unprecedented cuts to the force, the £40,000 nightly bill for the ongoing protest has fallen under the spotlight once again.

Chief Constable George Hamilton visited the camp on Thursday evening, hours after revealing the shocking scale of cuts he has been told to implement.

Afterwards he tweeted: "Good discussion with community reps at Twaddell re: their frustration at not getting up the road and mine at the £40k nightly policing cost."

Protesters, however, are dismissive of appeals to stand down from the long-running saga, dismissing the £40,000 figure provided by police. They say the total is closer to £27,000.

Protesters also point to the resources required to combat the severe threat posed by dissident republican terrorists.

That threat was starkly illustrated last winter when gunmen fired a volley of automatic fire at police patrols in the vicinity of the camp from the direction of Ardoyne.

They also see the blocking of a Twelfth parade on the Crumlin Road in July 2013, which led to the camp being set up, as a sop to the threat of republican violence.

In the wake of last year's ruling, protesters occupied the publicly-owned ground and vowed not to move until the Parades Commission determination was reversed.

This newspaper visited the camp again yesterday but those inside were unwilling to discuss the row over policing costs.

One of those present was among the first to join the cause back in the summer of last year.

And, as they vowed back then, they don't appear to have any intention of going anywhere soon.

Days of serious loyalist rioting broke out on the Twelfth in 2013 when marchers were stopped at Woodvale Parade, about 400m from the Ardoyne shops.

Since then protest parades have passed off without serious incident, but at a huge cost to be shouldered by the entire community.

Protesters have maintained a 24-hour presence at the site on Twaddell Avenue and high-profile visitors have included US diplomat Dr Meghan O'Sullivan and comedian Russell Brand.

Representatives from the main unionist parties have made regular visits to lend their support to those at the camp, as have members of the Orange Order.

In a recent interview with the Belfast Telegraph, its grand chaplain Mervyn Gibson reiterated the institution's determination to continue the fight over the Crumlin Road stretch.

He said: "It's not the stretch of the Crumlin Road that's important. It's not the stretch of the Garvaghy Road that's important. It's the principle behind this. We have continually made grand gestures."

Belfast Telegraph