Glasgow fireworks ban delayed ahead of Bonfire Night after council error

Glasgow City Council has apologised to residents.

A planned fireworks ban in part of Glasgow will not go ahead for Bonfire Night due to a council error.

The Firework Control Zone (FCZ) was set to cover Pollokshields - an area that has faced the most serious anti-social behaviour involving fireworks according to the council. The ban, which would have made it illegal to use fireworks in public and private areas, was expected to come into place between November 1 and 10.

But Glasgow City Council failed to issue a legal notice in enough time to allow the ban to come into effect on those dates.

The local authority has apologised to residents in Pollokshields, who were expected to be the first in the city to benefit from the new law.

As reported in our sister title, Glasgow Live, a council spokesman said: “We are very sorry that the firework control zone for Pollokshields cannot go ahead as we had hoped for this year’s Bonfire Night. The legal notice needed to create was not issued in enough time to ensure it can come into effect as planned between November 1 and November 10.

“Unfortunately this means the zone will not be legally enforceable during this time and implementation of the zone will now be deferred until next year.”

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The decision to make a firework control zone should be published 60 days before it comes into effect, but the notice for the Pollokshields zone was issued on September 9. The council received 19 applications to establish firework control zones in areas of the city.

However, a review found that only Pollokshields met the threshold for the introduction of a zone. A consultation on the introduction of a city-wide firework control zone for Glasgow will finish on October 20.

The spokesman said: “We have written directly to the members of the Pollokshields community who applied to have a firework control zone for their area and apologised for the disappointment this development will cause. We are working with our partners in the emergency services to address community safety concerns that have been expressed about Bonfire Night in Pollokshields and other parts of the city.”

Pollokshields has been a hotspot for firework-related anti-social behaviour and when the zone was announced, Cllr Elaine McSporran, the council’s firework safety champion, said there had been “terrible” scenes.

She said it was hoped the zone could “bring some relief to Pollokshields residents”.

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