Councillors have given the go ahead to begin a consultation process on proposals to introduce a firework ban in Dundee.
New powers were given to local authorities in June to allow them to introduce so-called firework control zones.
These would make it illegal for any member of the public to ignite fireworks in the designated areas, including in their own garden.
And at a meeting of Dundee City Council’s city governance committee on Monday, councillors gave the green-light to begin the process of introducing the ban.
An eight to 12-week consultation process will now begin, which includes choosing which areas the ban should be imposed on.
But any firework ban in the city is unlikely to be in place until January at the earliest – leading to claims the local authority has been slow in their response to the new powers.
Councillor Daniel Coleman, who represents the Strathmartine ward, said: “I do have to say I don’t think the council moved fast enough on this matter.
“The legislation came into effect on June 22 and the statutory guidance was made available that same day.
“But we are now at the tail end of September and this report is now coming forward.
“I appreciate resources are stretched, I know that only too well, but I do feel this should have been given absolute priority.
“Clearly we’ve missed the boat for 2023 for bringing in any control zones.”
However, council officers stressed that due to the time the process of introducing any ban would take, there was no way of getting it in place in time for this year’s Bonfire Night.
Tom Stirling, head of community safety and protection, said: “Even if we had started right away, digesting the guidance and then drawing up proposals (takes time).
“Our estimations certainly were that we would not have been able to put a zone in place in time for the October or November period this year.”
Dundee City Council to start consultation on fireworks ban
Under the so-called firework-control zones, those caught breaking the ban could face a fine of up to £5,000 or six months in prison.
Public firework displays would be permitted, subject to requirements, but the council no longer run these in Dundee.
And council leader John Alexander made assurances the council would do all it can to make Dundee’s communities feel safe following last year’s Kirkton riots.
He said: “We’ve got to be mindful of the time of year we’re at and what is approaching us in terms of Bonfire Night.
“Working with both those agencies I mentioned (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland) as well as council services to make sure that we lessen the impact on our communities and not see a repeat of what we saw last year, which was completely unexpectable.
“It shouldn’t have happened, our communities shouldn’t be living in fear at any point during the year and we need to make sure that we continue to work to address those underlying issues.”
