Leeds City Council says it is aware of issues with late-night fireworks affecting people living in Calverley and Farsley and is working with Bradford Council and police to tackle the issue.
WLD last month featured concerns from Councillor Andrew Carter (Cons, Calverley & Farsley) that late-night fireworks coming from were ‘completely out of hand’ and has called for both councils and the police to work together to resolve the late-night disturbances.
“It really is time for action” he said. “The police’s reputation is not being done any good by a lack of action.”
In a Facebook post last month, Cllr Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) wrote: “It is illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except on specific days such as Bonfire Night, New Years Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, which have extensions. As much as a nuisance, fireworks being set off late in the evening, unless being set off in a public place, police cannot do anything before 11pm.
“The issue here is frustratingly more difficult as most of the reports are from venues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Bradford East and Bradford council. From my close contact with the police and council officers we know that they have contacted their counterparts in Bradford, who are dealing with the issue.”
Leeds City Council has now issued a comment on the late-night noise issues, which have also affected people living in Pudsey and Farnley.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We are aware of reports from residents in Farsley and Calverley about noise from fireworks at night.
“‘We are working together with Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police to respond to these complaints.”
Following WLD’s last report on the issue, resident Vivienne Smith commented: “Night after night fireworks are disturbing our sleep as they begin long after the legal deadline of 11pm. No care for others with pets and babies. If no action is taken against them it will continue and get worse. What is happening to our lovely Pudsey area?”
And D Davidson added: “The real difficulty is when you try and report these issues as they ‘need to know specifically where the fireworks are being set off’ which is the difficult issue in Pudsey as you can just see that the general direction is across towards Bradford.
“It is deeply disappointing that despite the assurances given and the apparent existence of enforcement powers, the situation continues to deteriorate. Residents feel increasingly ignored and let down by the lack of visible action from those agencies tasked with upholding the law.”
Officers from the Calverley and Farsley neighbourhood policing team last month said they were tackling the anti-social use of fireworks in the area, working alongside partner agencies to take action against repeat offenders.