Edinburgh doubles firework ban zones for Bonfire Night

Fireworks will be banned in nine Edinburgh neighbourhoods on Bonfire Night this November – more than double last year.

Edinburgh City Council decided that firework control zones will now be extended to include Corstorphine, Moredun, Gracemount, Longstone, and Sighthill from October 31 to November 9.

That’s up from four areas covered by bans in the capital last year.

The prohibitions in Niddrie, Seafield, Balerno, and Calton Hill have been extended for the next two years.

The control zones mean that certain fireworks will be banned from being set off in these areas.

Anyone setting off fireworks themselves could face a £5,000 fine or six months in prison.

The move comes after police and firefighters came under attack from antisocial behaviour on bonfire night last year, when 61 people were arrested.

A report to Edinburgh’s Culture and Communities Committee found “overwhelming support” from the public for introducing the bans to the five additional neighbourhoods.

Edinburgh Zoo has also welcomed the control zones.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has been calling for tighter restrictions after a red panda cub is said to have died from stress on Bonfire Night last year.

Ben Supple, the charity’s deputy CEO, said the new control zones are “an important first step” towards protecting zoo animals this year.

“We are incredibly grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council for designating Corstorphine and the area around Edinburgh Zoo as a fire control zone,” Mr Supple said.

“The control zones are obviously difficult to police but they send a very important message and we’re confident it’ll go a long way to protecting animals here at the zoo.”

Edinburgh culture and communities convener Margaret Graham said the bans are part of the council’s effort to help everyone enjoy Bonfire Night “safely and responsibly”.

“The new FCZs being introduced are based on community requests and respond to real concerns around the safety of people and animals in these areas,” she said.

“This is in addition to the FCZs first introduced last year, which we found had a really positive effect. This is just one tool for minimising the negative impact of fireworks at this time of year, and we’ll continue to work closely with partners to look at different ways of addressing the issue.”