Calls for council to ban the use of fireworks other than in organised displays

There have been calls for a Greater Manchester council to ban the use of fireworks outside of organised displays as ‘firework season’ looms.

Bolton Council is set to debate the issue this week after a petition urging the authority to limit the sale and use of fireworks to organisations gained over 300,000 signatures.

The council has also been urged to support moves to create a new licensing system requiring people to have a license to buy and use fireworks and that businesses and shops will have to check if those buying pyrotechnics have a license.

This proposed system will require businesses and shops to run license checks on those who attempt to buy pyrotechnics.

Elisha Terada / Unsplash

Kearsley councillor Debbie Newall will propose the motion to the council in a bid to alleviate the ‘distress caused to residents and their pets’ throughout the firework season of late October and November.

Newall said: “The council recognises that many residents look forward to the wonder of fireworks during traditional events that are enjoyed by many of the cultures and faiths of the Bolton family.

“Whether it is Bonfire night, Diwali, Chinese New Year or the traditional western New Year, many people – especially younger people – love the spectacle of pyrotechnic displays lighting up the sky in all parts of the borough.”

She went on to acknowledge the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles Act 2022, which was recently introduced in Scotland.

The act is set to introduce a fireworks licensing system with mandatory safety training for people wishing to purchase and use fireworks. It will also introduce powers for local authorities to designate firework control zones.

Stacey MacNaught / Flickr

Newall continued: “It will also allow councils to ban their use in certain areas other than in a firework display or for ‘essential purposes’. Councils in Scotland will be able to establish Firework Control Zones, where it will be an offence for pyrotechnics to be used.

“This provides a balance between a legitimate right to use fireworks with the need to protect public safety and animal welfare. Without this type of protection, many people and animals will continue to be deeply affected by the use and deliberate misuse of fireworks.”

This morning, Manchester City Council announced it had been forced to cancel this year’s organised Bonfire Night events, including the annual Heaton Park celebration.

The council says the decision is due to a combination of factors including the ‘escalating costs’ of delivering large Bonfire Night events and the council’s ambition to be a ‘net zero carbon city by 2038’.