South Gloucestershire Council

If you want to set off fireworks, there are a number of restrictions you must comply with.

These are stated in the Fireworks Regulations of 2004 (as amended).

Among the regulations are the following:

• under 18s may not possess adult fireworks in a public place
• suppliers cannot sell category three fireworks with sound levels exceeding 120 decibels
• you may not use adult fireworks during the night (11pm to 7am) except on certain dates (see below)

Special occasions

You can set off fireworks later on certain special occasions:

• Chinese New Year – the ban on using fireworks is between 1am and 7am
• Guy Fawkes’ Night  (5 November) – the ban is between midnight and 7am
• Diwali – the ban is between 1am and 7am
• New Year’s Eve – the ban is between 1am and 7am

Diwali/Chinese new year dates

These dates vary from year to year. For the next year, they are as follows:

• 23 October 2014

Enforcement

South Gloucestershire Trading Standards is responsible for enforcing regulation 8 – the ban on excessively loud category three fireworks.

The police are responsible for enforcing the following regulations:

• Regulation 4 – the ban on under-18s possessing fireworks in public places
• Regulation 5 – the ban on possessing a category four firework unless you are a fireworks professional
• Regulation 7 – the ban on the use of certain fireworks during night hours