A council’s aim of limiting the negative impacts of fireworks will likely have to wait until the respective governments tighten existing laws.

December saw councillors in Gwynedd overwhelmingly back a motion calling on legislation to introduce a lower maximum noise level for fireworks sold to the public.

The motion, which also called for stricter regulations on when they can be let off, had also prompted a report looking at what actions the authority could take on a local level.

But Thursday’s meeting of the Communities Scrutiny Committee heard that council officers could only recommend best practice when it comes to holding public displays, with the likelihood that the UK Goverment would have to change the law before councillors could implement the measures they wanted.

The motion, proposed by Cllr Paul Rowlinson, had sought to force all public firework displays to advertise in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people.

It also called on the Welsh Governmentto use any powers it has to mitigate any adverse impact on animals and on the UK Government to introduce a maximum noise level of 90dB for fireworks sold for private exhibitions.

But while officers agreed that this could continue to be widely encouraged as “best practice,” it was noted they had no powers to enforce this nor to compel retailers to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks than the legally permitted 120dB.

However, councillors were told that wider public awareness campaigns were something the authority could continue to assist with on a multi-agency basis, which include stating the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks.

Cllr Steve Churchman told fellow members that the current law doesn’t go far enough and asked if any conditions could be placed on suppliers via the authority’s licensing measures.

“One of the big issues we have here, particularly in the villages, is the impact on farm animals,” he said.

“At that time of year a lot of animals are kept inside but the noise disturbs and upsets them and I’m aware of farmers experiencing damage to their property by cattle getting into a panic.

“If we can’t restrict their sound levels beyond what the law says, what we can do is warn that these things can disturb not only domestic pets but wildlife and farming stock.”

But Cllr Mike Stevens didn’t feel that such measures were needed at all, noting that councillors were “chasing a problem which doesn’t exist.”

He said: “I’m not quite sure about all of this, it’s all part of the intolerant society in which we live.

“We have fireworks for a few weeks a year and people seem to jump up and down and getting all upset, it’s the same as low -flying aircraft or noisy cars.

“Fireworks being a lot of joy and excitement and fun, we were all kids and had bangers, nowadays it seems that domestic pets are so pampered that they can’t stand anything.

“We had a dog and him in a kitchen with the radio on and never battered an eyelid when fireworks were going off.

“I do think there’s a tiny bit intolerance now where we can’t have bangers and flashes, for heaven’s sake, we’re creating work for hard pressed council officers when they have enough on their plates.”

The report was accepted unanimously with the exception of Cllr Stevens who abstained.