Issue - meetings

Purpose: To review the operational approach that is being taken towards fireworks by the Public Protection Partnership and to set out the powers delegated to the PPP to undertake enforcement activity in respect of the supply, storage, product safety and use of fireworks.

The Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 5) concerning the Council’s operational approach to fireworks.

The Principal Officer for Policy and Governance introduced the item and highlighted that Council’s current approach was formalised through the adoption of a Policy in 2021 and was drafted as a response to the RSPCA’s ‘bang out of order’ campaign.

The proposal presented to the Committee was a re-formatted document which contained a number of minor changes.

Members noted that the Public Protection Partnership were responsible for several, but not all, aspects of fireworks sales, storage, licensing and use. This included the sale, use, safety, age restriction, storage, noise, and social media communications around fireworks. Specifically, some key requirements were highlighted, such that the sale of fireworks was only permissible between the 15 October to the 10 November, 26 – 31 December, and three days before Diwali and Chinese New Year, and that they cannot be used between 11pm and 7am.

Members discussed the impact of fireworks in their wards, with some having more complaints about noise nuisance than others. In response to residents making complaints about noise between the 11pm–7am fireworks it was noted that enforcement was generally undertaken by the police and should be reported here: Report antisocial behaviour | Thames Valley Police.

Officers would also work on some publicity around this to go alongside the approval of this report by the Joint Public Protection Committee in October.

In response to a question about the extent of the complaints received around fireworks, the Committee were assured that this was not a significant issue in the district. In addition, it was confirmed that the Licensing Authority conducted checks of approved sellers to ensure that they were not selling certain grades of fireworks beyond their license.

The Committee also inquired into if professional displays needed to have a license, and about if the Council had a policy in place to cover a fireworks event on WBC own land. However, the Officer indicated that she would come back to them on these technical points.

Overall, as the Committee were satisfied with the report, they agreed to approve the recommendations.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1. Considered the standardised operational approach already undertaken by the Public Protection Service in relation to fireworks across all three partner authorities.
2. Recommend that the Joint Public Protection Committee adopt the revised approach at the October meeting.