Licence to thrill AUTUMN 2019 SALE OF FIREWORKS ‘With the completed licence application form, you should also submit a plan to a scale that shows the location of your site in relation to its surroundings’ Credit: Dave Hodgkins Image: iStock / Entertainment Event Fireworks light up any celebration, but your business must be licensed if it wants to store, sell or manufacture them As autumn turns to winter, seasonal celebrations adorned by fireworks come to the fore – and it can be a profitable time for businesses that supply pyrotechnic events. However, if you run wholesale or retail premises in England, Scotland or Wales that store or sell fireworks of up to 2,000kg net explosive content, you must be licensed. In the West Midlands – as well as Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – this means by the fire service; elsewhere, you must have a licence from the trading standards department of your local council. There are two main licence applications: one for standard storage within prescribed periods, up to 2,000kg; and one for sales all year round, up to 2,000kg. As well as a completed application form, you should submit a plan to a scale that suitably shows the location of your site in relation to its surroundings. If your site doesn’t have a postal address, the scale should normally be a minimum of 1:25,000. Where stores need to maintain separation distances, you should also include an Ordnance Survey (OS) site plan, or similar. This should include the location of the store and distances to any neighbouring buildings. It should also show any areas where you intend to process or manufacture explosives for which a licence is not required under regulation 6 of the Explosives Regulations 2014 (ER2014). The scale of the OS plan will depend on the separation distance: up to 200m, a 1:1,250 would normally be required, while greater distances would need a 1:2,500 – or even a SuperPlan. If you are intending to store or display more than 12.5kg of fireworks on a shop floor, you must include a floorplan of the sales area. To store, process or manufacture explosives within a building that is also used for other purposes, you should include a floorplan showing the places where you intend storing, processing or manufacturing the explosives. To store or sell more than 2,000kg net explosives content, you must get a licence from the Health and Safety Executive. You also need a licence to manufacture fireworks. Festivities, public holidays and big occasions are great opportunities for businesses to stock up on goods and make some money. But more stock means more packaging and waste, so read David Elrington’s advice on disposing of this responsibly. For more information about the safe storage and disposal of fireworks, see the article in TSBN Autumn 2017. Restrictions on the sale of fireworks In the UK, fireworks cannot be sold to the public except within days the following prescribed periods: l Chinese New Year and the preceding three days l 15 October to 10 November (Bonfire Night celebrations) l 26-31 December (for new year celebrations) l Diwali and the preceding three No disguising the need for safety Incidents of children being burned when a fancy-dress costume has caught fire are, thankfully, rare – but when it does happen, it is catastrophic. So disguise costumes for children aged under 14 years are classed as toys and must meet EU safety regulations and the European safety standard for flame resistance, EN71-2. This requires the rate at which a flame can ‘creep’ if a costume catches fire to be less than 30mm per second (mm/sec). Wholesalers and retailers of disguise costumes should also check their labelling for the following legal requirements: l The batch code/model number l Sew-in labels: each part must carry a permanent label with the words, ‘WARNING! KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE’ in red, 10-point, upper-case letters on the front. The letters must be clearly visible. (Strictly speaking, this is only required where flame creepage is between 10mm and 30mm/sec, but you will find it on most costumes.) For online and catalogue sales, the warnings should be visible at the time of purchase. Current standard BS EN 71-2:2011+A1:2014 is under review and a new standard is due out this year. No major changes to the flammability safety requirements are expected. See the Trading Standards official website, or contact your local authority about its Home Authority scheme. l l CE marking The manufacturer’s name and address – or, if they are outside the EU, the name and address of the manufacturer and the importer For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service Licence to thrill AUTUMN 2019 SALE OF FIREWORKS ‘With the completed licence application form, you should also submit a plan to a scale that shows the location of your site in relation to its surroundings’ Credit: Dave Hodgkins Image: iStock / Entertainment Event As autumn turns to winter, seasonal celebrations adorned by fireworks come to the fore – and it can be a profitable time for businesses that supply pyrotechnic events. However, if you run wholesale or retail premises in England, Scotland or Wales that store or sell fireworks of up to 2,000kg net explosive content, you must be licensed. In the West Midlands – as well as Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – this means by the fire service; elsewhere, you must have a licence from the trading standards department of your local council. There are two main licence applications: one for standard storage within prescribed periods, up to 2,000kg, and one for sales all year round, up to 2,000kg. As well as a completed application form, you should submit a plan to a scale that suitably shows the location of your site in relation to its surroundings. If your site doesn’t have a postal address, the scale should normally be a minimum of 1:25000. Where stores need to maintain separation distances, you should also include an Ordnance Survey (OS) site plan, or similar. This should include the location of the store and distances to any neighbouring buildings. It should also show any areas where you intend to process or manufacture explosives for which a licence is not required under regulation 6 of the Explosives Regulations 2014 (ER2014). The scale of the OS plan will depend on the separation distance: up to 200m, a 1:1250 would normally be required, while greater distances would need a 1:2500 – or even a SuperPlan. If you are intending to store or display more than 12.5kg of fireworks on a shop floor, you must include a floorplan of the sales area. To store, process or manufacture explosives within a building that is also used for other purposes, you should include a floorplan showing the places where you intend storing, processing or manufacturing the explosives. To store or sell more than 2,000kg net explosives content, you must get a licence from the Health and Safety Executive. You also need a licence to manufacture fireworks. Festivities, public holidays and big occasions are great opportunities for businesses to stock up on goods and make some money. But more stock means more packaging and waste, so read David Elrington’s advice on disposing of this responsibly. For more information about the safe storage and disposal of fireworks, see the article in TSBN Autumn 2017. Restrictions on the sale of fireworks In the UK, fireworks cannot be sold to days the public except within the following prescribed periods: l Chinese New Year and the preceding three days l 15 October to 10 November (Bonfire Night celebrations) l 26-31 December (for new year celebrations) l Diwali and the preceding three No disguising the need for safety Incidents of children being burned after a fancy-dress costume has caught fire are, thankfully, rare – but when it does happen, it is catastrophic. So disguise costumes for children aged under 14 years are classed as toys and must meet EU safety regulations and the European safety standard for flame resistance, EN71-2. This requires the rate at which a flame can ‘creep’ if a costume catches fire to be less than 30mm per second. Wholesalers and retailers of disguise costumes should also check their labelling for the following legal requirements: l The batch code/model number l Sew-in labels: each part must carry a permanent label with the words, ‘WARNING! KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE’ in red, 10-point, upper-case letters on the front. The letters must be clearly visible. (Strictly speaking, this is only required where flame creepage is between 10mm and 30mm/sec, but you will find it on most costumes.) For online and catalogue sales, the warnings should be visible at the time of purchase. Current standard BS EN 71-2:2011+A1:2014 is under review and a new standard is due out this year. No major changes to the flammability safety requirements are expected. See the Trading Standards official website, or contact your local authority about its Home Authority scheme. l l CE marking The manufacturer’s name and address – or, if they are outside the EU, the name and address of the manufacturer and the importer For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service