Felixstowe & Walton United FC

The Felixstowe Firework Spectacular will not be going ahead in 2022

With much regret, the clubs biggest event of the year will be unable to go ahead for the third year in succession.

Chris Daynes, the event organiser and joint Club Chairman explained the decision- "Early this year, East Suffolk Council launched a public consultation about firework displays on their land, including a potential ban. Felixstowe & Walton United Football Club lease Dellwood Avenue from ESC and is therefore affected by the result of the consultation and the subsequent decision."

"An event of this size takes many months of planning and preparation, usually starting in February. The uncertainty surrounding the result of the consultation made it impossible to undertake any organisation in advance, or risk the outlay of club funds, should a ban or major restrictions be put in place."

"The Public consultation ended in late May, but it took, despite my best efforts, until mid-August (10 weeks before the scheduled event date) to receive confirmation that any decision resulting from the consultation would not be made prior to November, and we could therefore proceed with an application to hold the event on council land."

"However, an event application of this scale takes many weeks to go through the relevant safety authorities before we can receive permission to go ahead with the event, with no advertising of the event allowed until permission is granted. Time simply ran out to organise this years display."

Chris commented "From a personal point of view, although I know fireworks are a contentious issue that stirs up strong feelings from some, I am deeply disappointed that the thousands of people who do enjoy our event cannot visit again this year. After 2 years of cancellations due to the pandemic we were looking forward to bringing people together at a safe, organised display. We have raised tens of thousands of pounds over 12 years to fund sporting opportunities for young people in the town as well as for annually chosen good causes. Felixstowe has lost many volunteer-run events over the years and it seems as if the firework consultation, which, in my opinion, was heavily weighted towards a ban, has ultimately led to the town losing another. With the event cancelled in 2022, I believe the environmental impact will be considerably more as people who usually attend will decide to travel further afield, or have fireworks in their own garden instead, thus increasing effects on animals rather than a 20 minute period that everyone is aware of in advance at our organised event. It seems the original idea to lessen the impact on the environment and wildlife will actually achieve the opposite thanks to the uncertainty and delay."

* We believe organised public displays are the safest way to enjoy fireworks. We undertake an environmental impact study each year to compare the display to other events and everyday activities to show how minimal the effect is.