A popular firework display could be cancelled ‘until 2025’ after concerns over the ground that is usually used to host thousands of visitors each year.
Normally at this time of year, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council would be finalising the details for its riverside firework extravaganza – and getting ready to welcome around 30,000 visitors.
However, after putting out a statement cancelling the event, due to not having the land required, concerns from the local authority have been raised that the blockbuster event won’t be able to happen until 2025.
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These concerns are down to the fact that the town’s Castlegate shopping centre is currently under construction and would interfere with punters that would be travelling to Stockton.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Borough Council said: "Unfortunately, we can't host a firework display in Stockton this year because the firing and fall-out zone we normally use is no longer available.
“The land is not owned by the Council and it is now being developed. This firing zone problem is not connected with the development of the Castlegate site.
"The Council has looked at alternative locations, including green spaces and parks, to stage the display but there isn't a space big enough for the combination of large-scale explosives and massive audience.
"The event on Stockton's Riverside typically attracts more than 30,000 people and managing a crowd of this size requires multiple access routes and viewing space.”
The statement went on to say that “alternative locations” may be big enough to accommodate the crowds, but the transport and parking requirements for an event attracting 30,000 people “can't be met elsewhere”.
The spokesperson added: “The redevelopment of the Riverside site, currently occupied by the Castlegate Shopping Centre, is expected to provide a solution from 2025.”
The news from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council comes after Skinningrove Fireworks were cancelled, due to the growing size of the event.
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