No firework ban for national park despite conservation groups pleas

CALLS to ban fireworks and sky lanterns in the New Forest via new antisocial behaviour laws have been rejected by the district council.

The authority has launched a public consultation on the introduction of two new Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO).

If approved, members of the public on Crown land could be fined up to £1,000 for lighting fires and barbecues, and also for petting and feeding ponies, horses and donkeys.

Now leading local conservation group Friends of the New Forest has urged NFDC to rewrite the proposed rules to include fireworks and sky lanterns.

However, an NFDC spokesperson told the A&T there had to be evidence there was a problem before such action could be taken.

At a meeting of the Verderers’ Court, Friends committee member Brian Tarnoff argued a similar PSPO recently introduced in Dorset included a specific clause against fireworks and sky lanterns.

He said: “Over 190 councils in England have committed to banning sky lanterns and many have included the bans in their PSPOs.

“Both Hampshire County Council and New Forest District Council have banned sky lanterns from events they permit on their own land.”

Mr Tarnoff claimed expanding the proposed PSPO would align with best practice adopted by other local authorities and be consistent with Dorset Council’s approach to prevent wildfires.

Warning that climate change would increase the risk, Mr Tarnoff said his suggestion would boost public safety, outweighing the “negligible” loss of enjoyment.

He said: “NFDC may balk at inclusion by insisting that they need more direct evidence of the threat from sky lanterns and fireworks to progress the PSPO.

“Clearly more than 10 other authorities were able to meet the legal requirement for those prohibitions in their PSPOs.”

He added that while it could be difficult to find specific remains of fireworks or sky lanterns in a heathland fire, a sensible risk analysis from the fire service should be sufficient.

Mr Tarnoff concluded: “There is ample evidence that our heathlands will be susceptible to wildfires. We should guard against every probable source.”

A public consultation on the two new PSPOs started this week, with a further report due to go to NFDC’s cabinet in the spring next year when a final decision will be made.

A spokesperson for NFDC said: “Fireworks and sky lanterns have not been included in the relevant draft PSPO at this time.

“This draft PSPO deals with the problems that have been identified during the evidence gathering process, which concentrate on the detrimental effects arising from the lighting of campfires and the use for barbecues in the open forest.

“Any PSPO that is introduced has to be evidence-based and the relevant activities within the current proposed PSPOs reflect the evidence gathering processes that have taken, with partners, over the last six months.”

The public consultation into the barbecue and animal petting PSPOs began on Monday and will run until 27th January.

Visit www.newforest.gov.uk/publicspaceprotectionorders