Edinburgh residents not convinced firework ban will help hot spot areas over Halloween and Bonfire Night
For centuries Bonfire Night has been ‘the night to remember’ - and in some Edinburgh neighbourhoods, the chaotic scenes in recent years are certainly hard to forget.
Last year saw large groups of young people use fireworks to wreak havoc in the capital, with some targeting police and vehicles with fireworks, bricks and other projectiles.
The widespread disorder would lead to 40 people being charged in Edinburgh and see the council expand the city’s Firework Control Zones (FCZ) – areas where it is illegal to set off fireworks – twofold.
This year, fireworks will be banned in Balerno, Calton Hill, Corstorphine, Gracemount, Longstone, Moredun, Niddrie, Seafield and Sighthill between October 31 and November 9. People who break the law could receive a maximum penalty of £5,000 fine or face a six-month custodial sentence.
‘Dispersal zones’ will also be in place where police can tell groups of two or more people engaging in anti-social behaviour to leave a designated area for up to 24 hours. Officers may also be placed on some Lothian Buses services.
And following last year’s distressing scenes, it comes as little surprise that policing strategies to combat violence and vandalism ‘effectively began on November 6, 2024’.
We spoke with residents in Moredun and Gracemount where a FCZ will be introduced for the first time, and in Niddrie, where a temporary ban was first introduced last year.
‘Gracemount looked like a warzone last year’
Speaking to the Evening News, one Gracemount resident said: “I think the Firework Control Zones are a good idea but I also think young people – especially the ones in balaclavas, will still cause trouble because they have no fear and the banned zones will add an extra level of excitement for them.
“Gracemount looked like a warzone last year – it was absolutely disgusting. People were scared to go outside and riot police had to come to close off a section of Captain’s Road.”
Another resident who works with the elderly community said FCZs ‘are only going to make it worse’. They said: “When you lay down rules some people go out of their way to break them.
“Last year people were taking parts of garden fences and burning them, stealing people’s bins and burning those too and even putting fireworks through letterboxes – it was a chaotic mess.
“I really hope strong punishments are enforced because if they say they’re going to be fined and then end up getting a slap on the wrist or let off with a warning – all that does is reinforce the idea that they’ll get away with it.”
A third Gracemount resident added: “Fireworks should be banned 100 per cent. I went to an organised event last year and getting home was an absolute nightmare. Roads were closed and we needed police to help us get in. I’m sceptical about the banned zones being effective because of what happened last year in areas where they had those rules. It’s horrendous!”
‘It should be a citywide ban’
Not far from Gracemount, a Moredun shopkeeper told the Evening News their business was ‘attacked by 30 to 35 kids’ last year. They said: “The kids smashed our windows while we were still open and then started smashing up cars in the street. We started bringing in customers via the back entrance because it wasn’t safe at the front door.”
Another said: “I can remember last year quite clearly. There was people in balaclavas setting off fireworks and directing them at shops and people stealing bins and burning them.
“I know this was happening in other parts of Edinburgh too but there seemed to be no police here, it felt like we were completely ignored – probably because the police were busier in other areas. I don’t know if the firework control zones will make a difference because it’s surely difficult to identify these guys when they’re covered up. And they’re getting bolder and this area is getting worse and worse.
“I also don’t think certain areas should be singled out – it should be a citywide ban because groups will just move to other areas.”
One Niddrie resident described Bonfire Night last year as ‘total hell’. She said: “Every single year it seems to go on for three to four bloody days and from what I see, it’s like the younger people are untouchable.
“I think until the police go after the parents and maybe give them a fine it will never stop. It’s unfair for the rest of us and some parts of Niddrie have been horrific. From closed roads to diverted buses and smashed shops - it’s getting worse.
Offenders ‘will be robustly pursued’
Chief Superintendent David Robertson, divisional commander for Edinburgh, said: “What we have seen in the last few years is a number of motivated individuals utilise the Bonfire Night period to cause fear and alarm within communities across the capital and commit unacceptable levels of antisocial behaviour, disorder and even attacks on emergency services, bus services and the wider public. This has to stop.“Our planning for this year’s Bonfire Night policing campaign effectively began on November 6, 2024 and I have been extremely encouraged by the level of support from key partners within the city to agree a joint approach that focuses as much on prevention, intervention, and diversion, as it does enforcement.”
Chief Superintendent Robertson added: “I want to make it clear though, enforcement action will take place where required and those who do opt to use fireworks in a dangerous or criminal manner will be robustly pursued and we will utilise all legislation at our disposal to bring these individuals to justice.”