Fireworks ban due to be introduced in Pollokshields falls through after council error

A planned fireworks ban in Pollokshields around Bonfire Night will not go ahead this year after a council mistake.

Glasgow City Council had announced Pollokshields would be the first area to introduce a firework control zone to curb anti-social behaviour.

The zone – which would have made it illegal to use fireworks, excluding sparklers, in public and private areas – was expected to be in place between November 1 and 10.

However, the council did not issue a legal notice in enough time for the zone to come into effect before those dates. It has apologised to residents in Pollokshields.

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.”

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 following a public consultation.

There had been 19 applications to the council to establish firework control zones in areas of the city, but a review, alongside police and fire services, found 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 fireworks-related antisocial behaviour, and when the zone was announced, Cllr Elaine McSporran, the council’s fireworks safety champion, said there had been “terrible” scenes.

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