Welsh council urges governments to limit firework noise

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

A city council has passed a motion urging the Welsh and UK governments to make fireworks quieter.

The motion, passed at the January 29 meeting of Cardiff Council, urges both governments to limit the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public for private displays.

It suggests a reduction of 120dB to 90dB.

The motion would also restrict displays on council land or transition council-run events on council land “silent/low-noise alternatives”.

Cllr Dilwar Ali, who forwarded the motion, said “fireworks have long been part of our culture” but there is “great misuse of high-visibility fireworks in our city”.

The Labour member cited the impact the noise created by fireworks has on animals, children, and the neurodivergent.

The councillor for Llandaff North clarified the motion does not call for an “outright ban” but rather “reasonable proportional reform”.

Decibels work on a logarithmic scale meaning that a 30dB reduction would reduce the volume by approximately 87.5%.

While supporting the spirit of the motion both Conservative and Liberal Democrat members criticised its technical detail.

Cllr Rodney Berman (Liberal Democrat) said of the reduction mentioned in the motion: “We just do not think that is at all workable.”

The councillor for Penylan also feared that by restricting displays on council land to silent ir low-noise alternatives it would “drive displays more into people’s back gardens, where they’re less regulated”.

In the open debate Conservative member Joel Williams called the reduction “effectively a ban on private firework sales”.

He continued: “It’s time to go back to the drawing board. Let’s get this right.”

The motion was passed, without amendments, with 52 councillors voting yes, one voting no, and 18 abstaining.

Other items in the motion include promoting public awareness campaigns to educate residents about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare, vulnerable people and wildlife, encouraging advance advertising of public firework displays, working with local retailers to promote quieter and low-noise fireworks, and supporting enforcement with local police and trading standards to monitor and report illegal or underage sale and use of fireworks.