Tuesday June 2nd 2026
Fireworks over Edinburgh
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Five new firework control zones could come to Edinburgh for Bonfire Night this year under plans going to councillors for approval.
The new zones, requested in a report prepared by council officers, will be voted on at next Monday’s culture and communities committee meeting.
Five existing control zones are also recommended for continuation by officers in the report.
If approved, all of the zones, plus several others which already have sign-off from councillors, would run between October 30 and November 8.
Officers also stated local partners reported control zones had been effective in reducing firework sales and use in the areas they cover last year.
The report additionally recommends councillors allow a community council more time to revise their proposal for a fireworks control zone, and delegate a decision on it to officers.
If that revised proposal was accepted by council officers, it would mark a sixth new zone in the capital.
The five new zones going for approval by councillors would cover parts of Wester Hailes, West Pilton, the Stenhouse/Gaskell Street area, Lochend and Liberton Grange.
The sixth application would come from the Gilmerton and District Community Council, whose original proposal was not included in the request for direct approval by councillors.
Officers stated the boundary proposed by the community council in their original application was too ‘large-scale’.
If the proposals are approved by councillors, and a revised proposal from the community council is approved by officers, 15 control zones would run in the capital this year.
The concept of control zones were introduced by the Scottish Government to give local authorities the power to regulate the use of fireworks.
One of the main aims was to reduce misuse of fireworks during Bonfire Night, which has historically occurred often in Edinburgh.
The zones requested for continuation, first introduced for Bonfire Night in 2025, are in Corstorphine, Longstone, Moredun, Sighthill/Broomhouse and The Murrays.
The last was renamed from ‘Gracemount’ since it was first implemented last year.
All five of the continued zones would last for two years, while the new zones would last one year, if approved by councillors.
Four control zones, in Balerno, Calton Hill, Niddrie and Seafield, were given two year approvals by councillors in 2025.
Along with the fireworks control zones, efforts have been put towards providing funding to divert young people from misusing fireworks on Bonfire Night.
According to the report, the council’s trading standards service noted a ‘significant reduction’ in the number of traders selling fireworks.
Officers stated that in 2024, 33 traders were selling fireworks in the city, while in 2025 only two were selling them.
In addition, the report stated that local partners in areas covered by the firework control zones in 2025 had reported efforts to mitigate firework use had been successful.
It stated that in Niddrie, despite ‘some disorder’, a local community centre which ran an alternative Bonfire Night event had drawn 950 participants, and led to a ‘noticeable reduction’ in disorder.
Edinburgh Zoo, meanwhile, said the 2025 firework control zones had worked well, coming after it said a baby red panda had died from stress associated with Bonfire Night fireworks in 2024.
The Calton Hill Conservation Trust said the fireworks control zone in 2025 was ‘successful’ and in line with successes seen in 2024, with minimal evidence of fireworks being discharged and minimal debris.
Council officers stated that Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had said the control zones had ‘no bearing’ on their ability to carry out their roles.
However, both services provided positive feedback about the partnership working involving the council and other bodies related to reducing fireworks misuse in the city.
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