Talks aimed at resolving the Drumcree dispute are expected to continue, as the Orange Order’s Nigel Dawson says “there are currently no proposals on the table.”
Both sides were given a document during separate meetings with the Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, on Wednesday.
After its meeting, the chairman of the resident’s coalition said his group would agree to it, if the Orange Order did.
On Sunday, an Orange Order parade from Drumcree into Portadown did not happen because of a large protest on the mainly-nationalist Garvaghy Road.
Protesters have remained on the Garvaghy Road, although in much smaller numbers, and the Orange Order have maintained a presence at Drumcree church, about a mile away.
On Thursday, The Nolan Show revealed details of what was in the document.
The understands it said the Orange Order had the legal right to walk the Garvaghy Road, the residents would accept that legal entitlement and publicly accept that it was wrong to block the Orange Order from walking down the Garvaghy Road, but in return the Orange Order would choose not to walk down the road anyway.
Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson would not discuss the details but told the Nolan Show that he supported the Orange Order’s “determination and their dignity in the face of hostility and lawbreaking”.
“In rejecting what is there doesn’t mean that is the end of a discussion nor does it mean it is the end of a successful conclusion, but it does mean that this process is maybe not as optimistically quick as some may have hoped,” he added.
Sir Chris has been involved in discussions with the Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents since Monday.
Talks are not likely to resume until later. Sir Chris had flown to England on Wednesday night for private reasons but it is understood he intends to return to Hillsborough Castle on Thursday evening.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC) issued a fresh legal bid to try to prevent the march from going ahead.
