A CONSTABLE who faced criticism over the staging of fireworks displays amid concerns about fire safety has called for updated legislation around the topic to be prioritised by ministers.
Steve Pallett, who returned to the role of Constable of St Brelade at the election in June after a four-year absence, said he had been in touch with Home Affairs Minister Helen Miles around the need to modernise the Island’s Explosives Law, which dates from 1970.
In response to a social media post by Starburst Fireworks highlighting displays to be held during wedding receptions at La Pulente and St Brelade’s Bay today, several Islanders criticised Mr Pallett for allowing the displays during a prolonged period of hot, dry weather that created a high risk of wildfires.
But the target of the online critics has clarified that no such authority is given to Constables – a situation that he described as highly unsatisfactory.
Powers to grant or deny permission for fireworks displays were included in a proposed new Explosives Law that was brought to the States Assembly by then Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand and passed unanimously by Members in July 2014. Senator Le Marquand stepped down from politics as the Island went to the polls three months later, and the new law was not enacted by his successor, meaning detailed regulations as to how it would operate were never agreed.
Mr Pallett said the responsibility for this failing lay at the hands of successive governments.
“It hasn’t been a priority for any of the ministers [since 2014] to see through, but I think it definitely is now,” he said. “There needs to be a process whereby some official body, either the parish or the fire service or one in collaboration with the other, is given the power to make a decision like this in order to protect the public and have greater control.”
The Home Affairs role passed to then-Deputy Kristina Moore in 2014 and subsequently to former St Clement Constable Len Norman in 2018. Then-Deputy Gregory Guida was elected minister in 2021 following Mr Norman’s death, while during the 2022-26 political term then-Deputies Miles and Mary Le Hegarat held the brief.
Mr Pallett said his support for legislation was not a reflection on Starburst Fireworks or the company’s managing director James Bevis.
“I acknowledge it’s a well-established business and I don’t know anyone who acts more professionally than James,” he said.
The St Brelade Constable said he had already discussed the matter with Senator Miles, who respresented the parish as a Deputy before taking on an Islandwide mandate following June’s election.
“The response I had was positive and I’m hopeful this will be a priority,” he said. “It needs the minister to be on board and for officials in her department to have the capacity to take this on.
“There are a lot of other elements to the Explosives Law besides fireworks, so it would need a proper consultation, but I’d hope this could happen relatively quickly – ideally we would want a law in place by next summer so the Island is equipped if 2027 features the same pattern of dry weather as we’ve seen this year.”
