Explosives licence and fireworks registration

Revised fireworks licensing policy consultation

London Borough of Barnet is the Licensing Authority under the provisions of the Explosives Regulations 2014 in relation to the storing and selling of fireworks during permitted time periods.

The London Borough of Barnet is also the Licensing Authority under Section 7 of the Fireworks Regulations 2004, in relation to applications to allow premises to not be restricted by the Explosives Regulations 2014 permitted time periods, and to sell fireworks all year. To sell fireworks outside the normal permitted periods an application for a licence is required to comply with the Fireworks Regulations 2004.

The current Fireworks Policy was adopted in 2018. All policies within the Licensing team are informally reviewed annually with a formal review needed every five years.

Consultation

The consultation process will take place from Thursday 3rd August 2023 and any comments must be received no later than Thursday 28th September 2023. In an effort to reduce printing, this is being circulated, where possible, electronically.

Draft statement of principles (PDF, 0.2Mb)

Your comments and suggestions are important to us and contribute to the review process. All comments will be considered and where appropriate, will be incorporated into the final version of the policy.

Please send any responses/comments you wish to be considered via email to: licensingconsultation@barnet.gov.uk

Or by post to: Fireworks Licensing Policy Consultation, Commercial Premises Group Manager, Licensing Team, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW

If you require a paper copy of the existing or draft Statement of Principles, please contact the Licensing team on 020 8359 7443 and ask for Licensing when prompted.

---

Traders who wish to keep and sell fireworks (explosives) at their premises are required to register their premises with us. There's also controls on the method of storage and the maximum quantities that can be kept on site.

When you need a licence

There are only certain times at which fireworks can be sold:

• Bonfire Night - 15 October to 10 November
• New Year's Eve - 26 December to 31 December
• Chinese New Year - on the first day of the Chinese New Year and the three days preceding it
• Diwali - on the day of Diwali and the three days preceding it.

Businesses that wish to sell fireworks all year round (outside the above dates) will have to apply for an additional licence.

Regardless of when you are selling your fireworks you will need a registration to store the explosives at your premises.

Before applying for a licence to store fireworks or other pyrotechnic articles please study the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) guidance documents on storing and selling fireworks safely

How to apply

Please use this link to the application form.

Licence fees

The current fees can be found on the HSE website.

An all-year round sale of fireworks licence is currently £500.

What happens next

If you are applying for the first time we will visit you before or shortly after your licence has been granted to assess how you plan to store the explosives both on and off the shop floor.

There are legal requirements for the storage of fireworks. Please see the attached information in relation to the storage and sale of fireworks.  Please also refer to the HSE risk assessment checklist

New trader guidance has recently been introduced, please refer to this document for more information.