Fireworks

[Angelina]

That said, organised displays could be on Saturday before and after and the actual day, and private ones could just not have the loud ones. 
It’s all down to accessibility and people caring/not caring

[personannrose]

This petition to reduce the noise of fireworks is currently going through Parliament

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/738192

Edited Monday at 18:42 by personannrose

[CPR Dave]

The lower / no bang noise fireworks sound great. 

 

Is there anywhere local selling those?

[HeadNun]

3 minutes ago, personannrose said:

This petition to reduce the noise of fireworks is currently going through Parliament

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/738192

Would this not be a complaint better aimed at the council? Isn't it an anti social behaviour issue? 

I think of myself as pretty live-and-let-live and feel like a miserable cow for saying this, but I do think I might complain. Personally I love the sound of fireworks but our dog is under the table, shaking like a leaf night after night and collapses in the street when he hears the noise.  I'm worried his heart'll give out.

[first mate]

I don't think you are miserable; the fireworks 'thing' seems to be growing. It used to be that you knew when they would likely happen and they were relatively rare, two or three times a year, for just one evening each time. Now, not only do there seem to be more and more large organised events, with extremely loud fireworks, even making Halloween a must do fireworks date- but people just seem to randomly let off four or five really loud ones at odd times of the night, for around 6 months of the year.

Given the environmental impact, I'd have thought the council might want to encourage use of low noise fireworks at large events.

I really, really hope something can be done.

[SophieA]

On 03/11/2025 at 18:46, HeadNun said:

Would this not be a complaint better aimed at the council? Isn't it an anti social behaviour issue? 

I think of myself as pretty live-and-let-live and feel like a miserable cow for saying this, but I do think I might complain. Personally I love the sound of fireworks but our dog is under the table, shaking like a leaf night after night and collapses in the street when he hears the noise.  I'm worried his heart'll give out.

Not miserable at all! I feel the same and also want to complain to the council but not sure who or where best to aim it at? I have flagged it with our local MP and one Southwark councillor previously but only verbally when discussing other things and didn’t get anywhere other than them agreeing it was very frustrating etc. but would love to do something on paper. I think they’ve been pretty much every night for the last couple of weeks and my cat is hating it! As am I !

[HeadNun]

I got in a right tizz last night, thinking 'this fireworks business is worse than ever tonight, it's outrageous!' ....then realised what date it was...

We gave Kalms to the mutt, thanks to Angelina's advice. It's hard to tell after just one night if they work, but I'll definitely try them again, as I'm sure a few people still have a few bangers left over. 

Did anyone see the coverage of the scenes in Liverpool and Birmingham? I wonder if this might lead councils to finally clamp down on sales. 

[Sue]

5 hours ago, HeadNun said:

Did anyone see the coverage of the scenes in Liverpool and Birmingham? I wonder if this might lead councils to finally clamp down on sales. 

No. What happened?

I actually thought, considering it was what we used to call Guy Fawkes Day last night, the loud noises from  fireworks ended remarkably early. About 9pm?

Maybe I just fell asleep and didn't hear any later ones.

Do people actually burn Guys any more? Apart from at places like Lewes, where I believe they still have Bonfire Societies and burn effigies of various political figures etc.

[Earl Aelfheah]

There is a great fireworks event every year in Battle. A bit like the Lewes one, but slightly smaller / more manageable. 

13 hours ago, Sue said:

Maybe I just fell asleep and didn't hear any later ones.

It’s not just you. Definitely seems to be a bit more subdued this year locally 

[first mate]

Probably because the 5th was a weekday. We still have the weekend to come. Also, some fireworks going off nearly every night for the last few months. Last night something was being let off that made a very deep booming noise every 10 seconds or so.

That said, if the general public are beginning to see the harm done by firework noise and choosing to use low noise options and refusing to support organised events that still use the full throttle type, I for one would be very happy.

Does anyone know if the Herne Hill Velodrome Halloween fireworks event used low noise options?

Edited yesterday at 08:50 by first mate

[Sue]

33 minutes ago, first mate said:

Probably because the 5th was a weekday. 

I did think that might be the reason, but five years out of seven it's going to be a weekday (I think. Not sure how leap years might affect things!)

[first mate]

I am keeping my fingers crossed the next few days are not so loud. I honestly think it is the private, back garden displays that are most problematic as, in general, there is no way of knowing when and where they might happen. For those letting off a few bangers in the garden I get it is tempting to think what's the harm in a few minutes of 'fun', but it is the absolute randomness of sudden bangs that can do irreparable damage to people and animals.

With organised events that are well advertised there is some forewarning at least, and the hope is that organisers of such events can be persuaded to adopt and make a virtue of using only low noise displays in future.

[Sue]

13 hours ago, first mate said:

I am keeping my fingers crossed the next few days are not so loud. I honestly think it is the private, back garden displays that are most problematic as, in general, there is no way of knowing when and where they might happen. For those letting off a few bangers in the garden I get it is tempting to think what's the harm in a few minutes of 'fun', but it is the absolute randomness of sudden bangs that can do irreparable damage to people and animals.

With organised events that are well advertised there is some forewarning at least, and the hope is that organisers of such events can be persuaded to adopt and make a virtue of using only low noise displays in future.

I think the only way to sort this is to ban loud fireworks for private sale (and preferably ban fireworks altogether except for public displays).

I don't know whether that has implications I'm not aware of eg I have no idea how many people are involved in firework manufacture.

[Penguin68]

2 hours ago, Sue said:

I don't know whether that has implications I'm not aware of eg I have no idea how many people are involved in firework manufacture

I think you'll find that there are more than just 'quite a lot' involved with firework enjoyment. I'm not one of those, but I do not begrudge the enjoyment of others.