Campaigners 'let down' Glasgow City Council won't enforce new firework laws

Campaigners calling to introduce firework-free zones in hotspots for misuse say the are feeling "let down and disappointed", as the legislation they fought for will not be enforced this year.

The community in Pollokshields say they will be living in fear for another Bonfire Night as Glasgow City Council confirms it has not had ample time to implement the controls.

The campaign began after the area was plagued by years of firework misuse, culminating with what police described as a "firework riot" in 2018.

Pollokshields campaigner, Danny Phillips, explained that evening sparked calls for changes in the law to stop this from happening again, and the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill was born.

Local authorities were handed new discretionary powers in June 2023, but found the process of implementing the firework-free zones to be too lengthy and complex to be introduced before November 5th 2023.

'We shouldn't have to live like this'

Danny tells us he feels extremely disappointed: "It's a sense of dread across the entire community.

"Will there be a riot, will somebody get injured this year as they have been before?

"We call the police and they tell us they're overrun on Bonfire Night, they'll get to us as soon as they can and to stay in the house.

"We shouldn't have to live like that, we should be able to go out and enjoy fireworks like everyone else but we can't.

"I'm not suggesting these things are simple, we know that, but this needs to be a priority, it hasn't been and we've been let down.

"They are telling us now they'll be introduced this time next year - that'll be six years, six years communities have had to wait for action. That's far too long.

"The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have let down communities like here in Pollokshields and we're just exasperated, we're fed up with it."

'Timescales did not permit the introduction'

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Misuse of fireworks and the detrimental impact on communities are of concern to us all and the council works closely with partners including Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue to address this.

“New discretionary powers to designate Firework Control Zones were given to Scottish local authorities in June 2023.

"The procedure for considering the introduction of a control zone is complex. It involves public consultation with a wide range of interested parties following a request by an individual or community group.

"Unfortunately, in Glasgow and many other local authorities, timescales did not permit the introduction of control zones this year, but they will be an additional measure at our disposal going forward."

Additional measures in place

The spokeswoman added: “In the meantime, our Trading Standards officers are conducting proactive checks around the licensing of retailers, safe storage of fireworks, restrictions on their sales including test purchasing in relation to underage sales and sales outside permitted dates and times.

“For the first time last year, Glasgow City Council also set up a Multi-Agency Control Centre in the lead up to, and on November 5th, bringing partner organisations together in one location to quickly and effectively tackle any issues which arose.

"This will happen again this year and the public is also urged to report any antisocial behaviour involving fireworks to Police Scotland.”

The Scottish Government was contacted for comment.

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