Edinburgh's firework control zones do not fully cover some streets that have seen serious disorder in recent years, with boundaries running down the middle of roads and leaving one side outside the restrictions, the council has confirmed.
The official firework control zone (FCZ) map divides a number of streets, including Hay Avenue in Niddrie, where two years ago fireworks and petrol bombs were reported to have been thrown at riot police during a stand-off. City of Edinburgh Council leader Jane Meagher acknowledged the boundaries were "in a sense arbitrary" but said she was confident the measures would make the streets safer this year. The restrictions will make it a criminal offence to set off a firework in an FCZ, or to throw one into a zone, unless the device is part of an organised and licensed event.
The council introduced limited FCZs in parts of the city last year, making Edinburgh the first Scottish council to do so after high-profile clashes in areas such as Hay Avenue in Niddrie. This year the zones will run from 31 October to 9 November. Areas covered in 2024 included Niddrie, Balerno, Calton Hill and Seafield; additional zones for the current season have been set up in Corstorphine, Moredun, Gracemount, Longstone and Sighthill.
Police dispersal orders are expected to operate alongside the FCZs. Dispersal powers can prevent groups of two or more people from gathering in designated areas. Meagher said if the council found problems with the way the zones were drawn this year, it would consider changing them.
Residents in the affected areas expressed concern that the FCZs do not go far enough. Liz Jack, who has lived in Niddrie since 2016, said the firework season was "absolutely terrifying" and that trouble escalated in 2023. She said rockets were fired up and down the street and that she took a hotel room last year to escape the disturbance, inconveniencing her health routine. "To me a permanent ban would be better than just the 10 days," she said.
Nikita Hunter, a resident of Gracemount, said some roads that are split by the boundaries, such as Captain's Road, should be wholly covered by restrictions. "It's not going to work. Nothing is going to work, they're going to do it anyway," she said, questioning the ability of police to prevent the disorder. Last year, despite restrictions, riot police were attacked with bricks and fireworks and a female officer was injured when the window of her vehicle was shattered.
Not all areas of last year's unrest are covered by FCZs this year. Calder Road in Sighthill, another site of serious public disorder in 2023, is not fully included in the town's FCZ this season. Meagher said the council's advisers believed dispersal orders were more appropriate than a fireworks ban for the type of disorder that occurred in Sighthill. But court testimony in a recent trial said a petrol station on Calder Road had been targeted with fireworks and rockets were set off near a petrol tanker. Neighbouring Sighthill Fire Station was placed in lockdown during the unrest, preventing crews from leaving or returning to the station.
Dr. Nick McKerrell, a senior lecturer in law at Glasgow Caledonian University, said localised laws could act as a deterrent and engage communities, but cautioned on the legal detail. "Where a law states it is a crime to do something in one area but not in another, it has to be very specific on the reasons for the limitations," he said. "That's why this is a big test."
Edinburgh is not the only Scottish council using FCZs. Glasgow will introduce zones this year covering Govanhill, Pollokshields and Broomhouse from 1 to 10 November, after a failed attempt to implement similar restrictions in 2024. Councils and police in both cities say the measures form part of wider plans to limit hazardous and antisocial behaviour during the firework period.
Council officials and police have emphasised that organised and licensed displays remain lawful and exempt from the FCZ restrictions. They have also signalled a willingness to review boundaries if the measures do not produce the intended reduction in disorder. Residents and community leaders, however, continue to call for broader and potentially permanent restrictions, saying temporary, geographically limited bans risk displacement of problem behaviour to neighbouring streets.
