Explosives/Fireworks

The information on this page relates to businesses within the London Borough of Harrow only. If you have a business that is outside of our area, please contact your local Authority (possibly Trading Standards, Environmental Health or Fire Brigade). Find your local Trading Standards Service at Trading Standards Central.

This page includes information on:

• Do I need a registration/licence?
• Maximum Quantities Permitted
• Sale of Fireworks
• Accidents
• Offences
• How do I register or get a licence?

DO I NEED A REGISTRATION OR LICENCE?

Storage of more than 2000kg of explosives, and any storage at mines or in harbour areas, is dealt with by the Health & Safety Executive.

Storage of up to 2000kg of explosives that include smokeless powder, blasting explosives, black powder or anything else requiring an Explosives Certificate, is dealt with by the police.

Only storage of up to 2000kg of other explosives (including fireworks and small arms ammunition) is dealt with by Harrow Trading Standards Department for premises in Harrow, and dealt with by Brent Health, Safety and Licensing for premises in Brent.

Explosives must not be kept for sale unless the premises have been registered with the local authority by the occupier at the time. Premises cannot be registered except on the application of and in the name of the actual occupier. Standard registration allows you to sell fireworks at specified times of the year (for example Diwali). A special annual licence, for which the fees are different, allows you to sell all year round.

Note that fireworks are classed as explosives.

Note that small quantities of cartridges for car air-bags and nail guns, 5kg of shooters powder, 10kg of black powder or 7 kg if mixed can be kept without registration with the Local Authority

Applications must be made to the Director. All registrations are renewable from 1st September each year. The fee for registration is stated on the application form, for each year ending 31st August.

Such application for licence/registration, does not absolve the applicant from the necessity also to obtain any permission or consent which may be required in respect of the premises under the Town and Country Planning Acts or other enactment and, if an applicant is in any doubt whether planning consent is necessary, they should consult the Borough Planning Department, Civic Centre, Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2XF or
Planning Service, Brent House, 349-357 High Road Wembley, Middlesex HA9 6BZ.

MAXIMUM QUANTITIES PERMITTED

Premises may be registered (rather than licensed) only if the amount of explosives to be stored at any one time is no more than:
30kg of explosives of any hazard type
100kg of hazard type 3 explosives
100kg of a combination of hazard type 3 and hazard type 4 explosives
250kg of hazard type 4 explosives, or
250kg of small arms ammunition and percussion caps and 30kg of shooters' powder
There is a maximum of 250kg net explosive content for standard registration
You are allowed only a maximum of 75kg net explosive content in your shop dependant on floor area and storage & display restrictions.
Over 250kg net explosive content and up to 2000kg requires a special licence.

SALE OF FIREWORKS

Fireworks must not be hawked, sold or exposed for sale upon a street or a public place and must not be sold to any child under the age of 18 years.

The name and address and safety instructions on any firework when received from the factory must not be removed, obliterated or altered before sale. Only fireworks which comply with BS7114 may be sold.

It is an offence for someone under 18 to possess fireworks in a public place.

ACCIDENTS

You will be required to conduct a risk assessment of your premises. If you have more than 5 employees it must be a written assessment.

All due precautions must be taken by the occupier of the premises and by his staff to prevent any accident by fire or explosion and to prevent unauthorised persons having access to the fireworks on the premises.

There should be no smoking in any room where fireworks are stored, by any person conveying fireworks from a store-room to a public room for display or sale, in any small rooms where fireworks are on display or are being offered for sale or near to where fireworks are on display or are being offered for sale in larger rooms. Notices to this effect should be prominently displayed in suitable positions (fallen ash might be capable of igniting the touchpaper of fireworks).

All gangways, passages and stairs leading to containers should be kept clear so that escape is not impeded in the event of fire.

Water-type fire extinguishers should be readily available or failing this one or more buckets of water and of sand should be kept handy when fireworks are on the premises. It is important that fire extinguishers should be properly maintained.

A prominent notice should be placed in a conspicuous position telling staff and other persons who may be in the shop what to do in case of fire, and the quickest way of calling the fire brigade. If a fire should break out or be suspected, the fire brigade should be called at once and the public should be evacuated from the premises immediately.

If any accident by fire or explosion causing loss of life or personal injury should occur in or about the premises it must be reported at once to Her Majesty's Explosives Inspectorate, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Bootle, Merseyside L20 302 Tel. (0151 951 4000) and to the Director of Trading Standards.

OFFENCES

It is an offence to keep explosives on unregistered premises. It is an offence to exceed the permitted quantities for storage. It is an offence to contravene the methods of storage. It is an offence to sell fireworks to any child under the age of 18. It is an offence to sell fireworks without a licence. It is an offence to sell fireworks at times of year not covered by your licence. If an offence is committed, the appropriate Court may impose a penalty of £5000, or more in some cases, and may order the explosives in question to be forfeited. Heavy penalties may also be imposed for other offences. The occupier of any registered premises must show to any authorised officer, on request, all explosives he may have on the premises.

Any further information can be obtained from the Trading Standards Service.

HOW DO I REGISTER OR GET A LICENCE?

If you are in the London Borough of Harrow you can either contact us to request an application pack, or the use our downloadable forms below. Note that they are in Adobe Acrobat format.

If your premises are in the London Borough of Brent, you need to apply to the Brent Health, Safety and Licensing Service. Their contact details and a downloadable form are on their web-site http://www.brent.gov.uk/hsl/

Please click on document in list below, which apply to premises in L.B.Harrow only.

1. Application for Registration (Storeage and Sale) [explosives08.pdf - 95kb]
2. Application for All Year Round Sale of Fireworks [allyearround07.pdf - 90kb]
3. Guidance notes for applicants (Harrow only) [guidance08.pdf - 15kb]
4. Risk assessment template [riskassessment.pdf - 102kb]

Anyone wishing to apply for a licence or a registration from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should contact HSE or alternatively go to: www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/information/ Applicants should then scroll down and select Forms for an application.

Applications to the Police should be made to the Explosives Liaison Officer (ELO) for the police service for the area where the store is located (details of the Police ELO contacts nationally is available at: www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/index.htm.