Truro Bonfire night fireworks cancellation sparks fury among residents
The event expected 5,000 people to attend, the local council said.
(file picture) The fireworks display in Truro was cancelled last year too (Image: Getty)
Residents in a Cornish town have voiced their disappointment after the annual bonfire night and fireworks display was cancelled for the second year running. Organisers at Truro’s annual bonfire night and fireworks display said the popular event requires extensive discussions and safety plans to ensure it can go ahead.
And despite the best efforts of everyone involved in planning, it will once again not take place, it was revealed. Truro City Council said the event was expected to attract around 5,000 attendees, placing it within the “enhanced tier” category under the Government’s Martyn’s Law legislation.
The legislation obliges organisers of large-scale public events to put in place strengthened safety and security measures aimed at protecting attendees.
Although Martyn’s Law is not due to come into force until next year, the council said local authorities are already being encouraged to prepare and operate as though the requirements are in effect, Cornwall Live reports.
Tremorvah Playing Field had been identified as a potential venue, and extensive discussions were held covering road closures, ticketed access, crowd management, communication systems, and arrangements for emergency support.
However, the council concluded that it would not be possible to deliver the event safely within its current budget and resources while keeping it affordable for residents and minimising disruption to those living near the site.
Truro City Council said the event was expected to attract around 5,000 attendees (file picture) (Image: Getty)
Truro City Council Town Clerk, David Rodda, said, “Truro City Council can only stage events where it is satisfied that it can do so safely and within available budgets.
“Despite our best efforts, it was not possible to do that this year whilst keeping the entry price at an affordable level and whilst ensuring that we meet the necessary requirements of an “Enhanced tier” event under Martyn’s Law.
“I know this will be a disappointment for many residents.”
Some residents expressed their anger at the move, with one saying, as reported by Cornwall Live: “Truro, the failures are all around us, no surprise, no thought of having a safe aerial display we can all see in the sky with no attendees at risk and controllable expense?”
A second said: “So that’s that finished indefinitely now I’d guess .. for a city it offers very little.”
“Shocking decision,” said a third.
Another added: “Sorry but this is pathetic.”
Andy Burnham savaged as one in five UK working age adults now on benefits
Critics warn it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and Britain “can’t afford” it.
Andy Burnham is under pressure to get a grip on the benefits bill. (Image: Getty)
One in five working-age Brits is on universal credit, according to new research. Some 7.3 million people aged between 20 and 64 in England and Wales were receiving the benefit as of May 2026, the analysis by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found.
That includes 3.3 million under 40, with 1.3 million in their 20s. The research showed that 54 council areas have a quarter of the working-age population on benefits, which are for people who are jobless or on a low income to help with living costs.
William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “In some places, dependency on universal credit has become endemic.
“Generations are being dumped on benefits: written off and condemned to a life of dependency as ministers make it harder for them to find a job.
“If Andy Burnham was serious about growth in every postcode, he would be making it more affordable to hire young people.”
Councils with the highest proportion of older people on universal credit are concentrated in London, including more than half of those in their 50s and 60s in Tower Hamlets.
Coastal towns such as Thanet, Great Yarmouth and Hartlepool tend to have more younger people on benefits.
Blackpool was the local authority with the largest share of the working-age population claiming universal credit at 35.2%.
Tory shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately warned it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and that Britain “can’t afford” it.
She added: “I’ve been to benefit hotspots like Blackpool, where welfare has become a way of life. This has to stop. A generation of talent is also being wasted when young people sign up for welfare instead of starting work.
“It’s clear Andy Burnham — like his predecessor — does not have the backbone to reform welfare. He said himself he puts social security before national security.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Three-quarters of the increase in Universal Credit cases since July 2024 is driven by people moving from legacy benefits – a transition started by the previous Government.
“Many people receiving Universal Credit are already in employment, and our reforms will go further to tackle the perverse incentives that discourage work, and we’re investing £3.5 billion in employment support for disabled people and people with long-term conditions.
“We’re putting work and opportunity at the heart of the system, and the final recommendations from the Timms and Milburn Reviews will lay the foundation for sustainable reform.”