Exclusive:Major increase in Edinburgh firework ban zones for Bonfire Night
Significant fall in traders selling fireworks since introduction of control zones
A record number of special zones where the use of fireworks is banned will be rolled out across Edinburgh this autumn as part of ongoing efforts to tackle Bonfire Night related disorder.
Some 14 firework control zones (FCZs) will be in place across the capital after a surge in applications, up from the four that were introduced in the scheme’s inaugural year, and the nine put in place in 2025.
The city became the first in Scotland to introduce the zones amid widespread anti-social behaviour which saw police officers being targeted with missiles and pyrotechnics.
The legislation underpinning the FCZs makes it a criminal offence to set off a firework within their boundary, or to throw one into one of the zones between 31 October and 9 November.
According to the City of Edinburgh Council, the introduction of the zones has been a success, with positive feedback from communities and businesses, as well as from Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
When the initiative was launched in 2024, there were four designated FCZs, covering Balerno, Calton Hill, Niddrie, and Seafield. The following year, zones were introduced in Costorphine, Moredun, Longstone, Sighthill/Broomhouse, and Gracemount, now known as The Murrays, with the new designations ratified based on community applications and historical evidence of firework-related disorder.
Now, the number of FCZs is set to increase again for 2026, with new zones set to be approved covering Liberton Grange, Lochend, Stenhouse/Gaskell Street, West Pilton, and Wester Hailes.
The council said that there was “substantial” evidence of firework-related disorder in the Stenhouse/Gaskell Street area, which had resulted in “sustained harm,” with fireworks thrown at homes, vehicles, and pedestrians.
It also said there was proof of “severe and sustained” harm in West Pilton, with the disorder taking in attacks on emergency services.
The expansion plans, set out in papers for a meeting next week of the council’s culture and communities committee, also received an application for an FCZ from Gilmerton and District Community Council.
It has been recommended for refusal due to what council officers describe as its “large-scale boundary,” but said an application for a smaller and “more proportionate” zone for the area should be invited.
If the plans for the new FCZs are approved by councillors on the committee, a consultation will be held before they come into force.
In a report prepared for councillors, Gareth Barwell, the local authority’s corporate director of place, explained that since the launch of the FCZs nearly two years ago, there had been a clear impact on the sale of fireworks in the city.
“The council’s trading standards service have reported a significant reduction in the number of traders selling fireworks,” he explained. “In 2024, 33 traders sold fireworks in the city, and by 2025 this number had fallen to tow.”
Mr Barwell added that there had also been a reduction in the sale of F4 graded fireworks, which are professional grade and require training and a licence to be used.
The report also states that Edinburgh Zoo welcomed the introduction of the zones, noting that while it believed that had been a general increase in the year round use of fireworks, the FCZs “worked well” in 2025, with less fireworks used in close proximity to the zoo.
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