Councillors support move to cap fireworks noise at 90 decibels

The Royal Borough passed a motion that will call on the Government to introduce new legislation – making it illegal to use fireworks that are too loud.

At a Royal Borough council meeting on Tuesday (November 18), Councillor Simon Bond (Lib Dem, Belmont) presented a motion looking to lower fireworks noise levels.

Councillors agreed that the leader of the council, Simon Werner (Lib Dem, Pinkneys Green), will write to the Government, urging them to introduce new legislation that would only allow 90 decibel fireworks to be used at both private and public displays.

The maximum noise level currently permitted across the UK is 120 decibels.

Fireworks are divided into four categories, from party poppers that can be used inside, up to fireworks that can only be sold to professionals.

Cllr Helen Taylor (Ind, Oldfield) said: “I love fireworks, I’m not going to lie. I go to public displays.

“Even though I love fireworks, I would be quite happy to have them banned privately and just stick to public displays, because a firework is a lethal weapon.

“I don’t think they should be in the public’s hands full stop. That’s just my opinion.”

Cllr Karen Davies (Lib Dem, Clewer East) said that other sounds that measure 120 decibels include aircraft on a ramp at take-off, police sirens and gunshots.

“I think you can have a very nice fireworks display at home without that level of noise,” she added.

Other councillors backed the motion and said that people, as well as animals, are negatively impacted by displays that are too loud.

Cllr Wisdom Da Costa (Ind, Clewer and Dedworth West) said: “It’s not just animals who suffer.”

“It’s also people who are trying to sleep, let alone for people who have to work night shifts, children who can’t sleep, people with neurodivergence.”

Cllr Ewan Larcombe (Ind, Datchet) agreed and said that he has no issues with fireworks displays specifically.

“I’m not complaining about fireworks, I’m complaining about 11 o’clock at night and these enormous mortars that shake the house without notice at all,” Cllr Larcombe said.

Existing Government legislation sets out that fireworks must not be set off between 11pm and 7am, with some exceptions for major annual celebrations.

These include Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when permitted timings are extended to midnight and 1am.

Cllr Helen Price (Ind, Clewer and Dedworth East) said: “These [rules] are being ignored by many people, and I don’t see the police enforcing the times and the legislation that’s already there.”

Other councillors questioned how timings can be enforced and said that this would be ‘in practice quite difficult’ and ‘extremely hard’ to do.

Cllr Sally Coneron (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) supported the motion, though she added that she was concerned people would try to buy loud fireworks illegally if the law changed.

“[This] could actually make the problem worse,” she said.

But Cllr Bond argued this would be a ‘duff thing for anybody to do’.

He said: “You don’t know who has made those fireworks, if they’re not properly made or checked.”