Whilst public displays can go ahead this fireworks season, the use of fireworks outside of public displays will be banned in parts of Niddrie, Seafield, Calton Hill and Balerno for the first ten days of this month.
Earlier this year, council officials recommended that Edinburgh should not have any of the new Firework Control Zones (FCZs), and had it not been for the Greens tabling a motion to overrun that position, we would not have even these relatively limited controls.
These zones are good news for our air and water quality, pets, wildlife and vulnerable people in those areas.
But elsewhere, the parents of autistic children and the owners of dogs hiding under the bed, terrified by the bangs, might question why their loved ones are not deserving of the same protection.
There are also practical issues, however. Zones run down the middle of streets, with the law applying to one side of the street and not their neighbours across the road. It even appears even people’s gardens are split in half. It would have been better to designate the whole city as one large FCZ, and Greens worked hard to achieve this.
This position was backed by 17 charities and other organisations representing animals and vulnerable people, including Dogs Trust, Cat’s Protection and Combat Stress; The Veterans’ Mental Health charity.
Although I wish the Lib Dem, Conservative and Labour councillors who voted down the city-wide option had been braver in using the Council’s new powers, in truth, the Scottish Government’s unclear guidance made it difficult.
In 15 years in public policy, I have never before seen such poorly-written guidance, on one page saying that large zones were not intended by the legislation, and on another saying there was no maximum size and that Councils know best what works for their areas.
We need to use the time before next fireworks season to clarify the position so, next November, everyone and every animal is protected, everywhere in Edinburgh.