The mayor of Seaham has apologised "for any upset caused" after it was announced that the annual fireworks display would be restricted to town residents only.
Seaham Town Council announced last week that Seaham Fireworks, which will be held on Bonfire Night, will be reserved for residents only to "avoid cancellation". The council said they were required to put "extra safety measures in place" and said the restriction will "reduce the traffic congestion" on the A19 and around the town.
Hopeful visitors were told they would have to bring proof of residence like a utility bill or a council tax bill to obtain a wristband to gain entry to the display. Wristbands will then be checked on-site and any attendees without one will be refused entry, the council warned.
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However, the move sparked outrage among residents across County Durham and beyond who would travel to Seaham every year for the display with thousands descending on the town last year. Many people took to social media to describe it as "disgusting" and a "disgrace".
In response, the Mayor of Seaham Town Council, Sue Morrison, issued an apology to those left angry by the situation and said it was done with the "good intention of trying to keep people safe". She said the restrictions were put in place to reduce congestion and said the council had tried to implement alternative options.
The mayor said: "First of all, I would like to apologise for any upset the introduction of wristbands have caused. These along with the residents-only classification message were stipulated by the Durham County Council's Safety Advisory Group in order to try and reduce the congestion caused at last year's event. This is all with the good intention of trying to keep people safe.
"Seaham Town Council certainly tried many other things to avoid the need of the two restricted areas which are obviously part of our much larger coastline, such as moving the event from Friday to the Saturday when many more events are on, commissioning extra stewards and car parks at the car boot coast field and Spectrum Business Park along with a large amount of extra signage and no parking cones however the Safety Advisory Group still insisted on the residents only message and the two restricted areas.
"Nobody wants the congestion that we all saw last year, so it is worth giving these things a try even though we are not used to them after having many decades of free excellent events in Seaham. They are needless to say all still free and Seaham is still open for business as usual.
"However, the message for this one event this year is really if you have a council more local to you or a charity or sports club that is putting a fireworks event on, please try and support these instead of contributing to the congestion on the A19 and around Seaham. It may be nice for you and your family to leave the car at home for one night and walk to another event closer to home rather than getting stuck in traffic for hours."
Many people were outraged on social media. One said: "We were looking forward to it. Go every year. For the very reason, it’s normally fairly quiet and easy to get parked. What an absolute disgrace," while another said: "Absolutely disgusting! We live in Seaham and come with our family from Sunderland every year, our yearly tradition. The kids will be devastated we can’t visit with the rest of our family."
A third said: "I go to Seaham regularly and spend my hard-earned cash, but no more", while another person said they won't be coming to future events saying: "This is disgusting we come every year!! Well we won't be coming to any future events carnival etc after this!!"
The mayor urged those without a wristband to check that they are actually paying their council tax to Seaham Town Council by looking at their council tax bill or by looking it up on Durham County Council's website and accessing the 'My Durham' feature.
She also encouraged local residents to walk rather than take their car as there will be restricted parking in the centre from 10am. There are also free park and walk schemes at the car boot field north of the town and at Spectrum Park on the south open from noon on Saturday with stalls and rides opening from 1pm on Terrace Green.
Roads in front of Asda, along Terrace Green, and down to the Marina close at 5pm and gates to the two restricted areas at Asda and the Marina are opening around 5.30pm to 6pm with acts on stage in front of Asda from 6pm and the fireworks starting at 7pm.
Those attending have been urged to go at least an hour early to avoid congestion and have been reminded that no drones are allowed. Security will be "highly visible" across the event and parents and grandparents with wristbands are encouraged to write their telephone numbers on the back of their children's wristbands.
Joanne Waller, Durham County Council’s head of community protection, said: “The Safety Advisory Group (SAG) is a multi-agency partnership between the council, police, fire and ambulance services. The SAG partnership seeks to work with event organisers to ensure events are organised and managed as safely as possible for all concerned.
"In this case, concerns were expressed by the emergency services over traffic build-up at last year’s event. The event organisers were advised of potential implications for the safety of road users and the need to ensure that emergency vehicles have ready access around the area.
"Advice was given to the town council by the SAG in the interests of public safety and, as the event organiser, it has considered this advice and taken appropriate steps to address these risks as part of its event safety plan."
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