EDINBURGH council is extremely unlikely to impose restrictions on the capital’s numerous fireworks displays after a report showed they caused no damage to buildings and had sparked just 11 complaints last year.
In December, Tory councillor Joanna Mowat asked the council to investigate so-called “silent fireworks” after she expressed concerns about the impact of displays on human and animal health. A report going to today’s meeting of the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee – the last before the council elections – states “there is no evidence that noise levels experienced by the general public stemming from organised fireworks displays in the city are exceeding safe limits.”
The Hogmanay and festival fireworks spectaculars are often viewed from well outside the city centre.
The report states: “Large-scale displays to be viewed from a distance need to achieve a significant amount of height to be able to be seen by the audience over that distance and to progressively climb above the smoke layer from previous firings.
“This height and the accompanying large bursts of colour can only be achieved with the use of propellants. These propellants, or explosives, are what create the loud bangs associated with fireworks displays.
“A fireworks display which comprised solely of ‘quiet’ fireworks would be limited in height, and therefore in the range from which people could view it.
“It would also be of reduced impact in terms of the drama and spectacle that people associate with large-scale firework displays, and the expectations that contemporary audiences bring to such shows.”
The council’s environmental health officers could find no studies or reports that indicated the airborne vibration from fireworks caused structural damage to buildings.
Historic Scotland has stated that “there is no evidence to suggest that firework displays during the Tattoo or other annual events have any effect on the stability of rock faces below Edinburgh Castle, nor has any fireworks cracked glass around the Castle.”
The report’s main conclusion was that in 2016, the council's noise team received a total of just eleven complaints regarding noise from fireworks. “All of the complaints related to the loudness of the fireworks,” said the report, “as well as one concern about the effect on pets, and six about the timings of the displays.
“Of these eleven, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo generated four complaints and the Royal Yacht Britannia two. The Edinburgh International Festival and Hogmanay firework displays gave rise to one complaint each, and the others were concerning fireworks from an unknown origin.
On health issues the report states: “There is a small percentage of the population who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, hyper-sensitivity, or a phobia related to loud bangs who may experience distress when witnessing fireworks displays.
"For the majority of those individuals any adverse effects are greatly lessened by prior warning of the noise.
“For animals too, such as household pets, if their owners are made aware in advance of the likelihood of a display giving rise to loud noises, then there are steps they can take to minimise any animal distress.”
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