Battle wants refund for cancelled fireworks display

The Battle of Flowers has asked Ports of Jersey to pay some of the £8,000 it said it lost after its fireworks finale display was cancelled.

Organisers originally planned to go ahead with a fireworks display for the Saturday evening show, despite concerns, but they were cancelled as the association said it was "unable to reach a position required to secure the necessary licence".

Ports of Jersey said the fireworks show could not go ahead because of the fire risk and "emergency response concerns" caused by the dry summer Jersey had been experiencing.

It said it did not take the decision lightly and advice from the fire service contributed to the decision to not issue a display permit.

The organisation said it had complied with all the requirements including detailed risk assessments and safety planning for the fireworks display which would have been launched from a vessel positioned offshore in St Aubin's Bay.

Martyn Maguire from the Battle Association said he was frustrated the decision came after the parade had spent the money for a display and questioned why a fireworks display at a Fete in Gorey on Friday evening would be going ahead.

He said: "Our concern is rather about the consistency of the regulatory and safety approach applied to different public firework displays.

"What we now need to understand is why those same principles, or an equivalent level of scrutiny, do not appear to apply to another public firework display."

Jersey Harbour Master Captain William Saddler said it had no input on the Gorey display as it was outside harbour limits and that it had consulted "a number of relevant agencies and stakeholders to understand the conditions and associated risks before reaching a decision".

He said: "Our concern was the potential consequence of an incident, however unlikely, during a period of exceptional fire risk and the impact this could have had on the island's emergency response capability.

"Despite the disappointment surrounding the fireworks, this year's Battle of Flowers was a tremendous success and a fantastic celebration of Jersey."

Ports of Jersey's statement did not reference a response regarding contributing to the loss of funds by the battle.

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