There seems to be a national fireworks ban. NSC is now also over and that brings the House of Representatives to a large majority, while there was already support in the Senate. Fireworks entrepreneurs in Brabant are angry and worried. “You remove a consumer product from the market, while that is not the problem.”
Maurice van Hommel, owner of a fireworks store in Tilburg, understands that the government wants to do something against nuisance and violence, but he believes that the prohibition is wrongly focused on consumer fireworks. “This is not the problem, it’s in the illegal circuit,” he says.
“New Year’s Eve is not getting calmer due to a national fireworks ban.”
The VVD was previously against a fireworks ban, but since last week the political party has been over. On Tuesday, NSC also indicated that they support the proposal of GroenLinks-PvdA and Party for the Animals to introduce a total ban as quickly as possible. The parties want to focus harder on tackling troublemakers, who attack police and care providers.
But fireworks seller Jan de Wit from Helmond thinks that the ban has an opposite effect. “New Year’s Eve will not be calmer,” he says firmly. “Dutch legal sellers no longer sold any arrows or Roman candles, because they were often used to shoot aid workers. If enthusiasts now go abroad, more is sold from the heavy fireworks that are bothering the police.”
He also warns of unrealistic enforcement. “They can’t handle the enforcement of the illegal fireworks,” he says. He refers to the corona period, when the sale of legal fireworks stopped. “We didn’t sell a euro at the time, but if you then looked at how much the air went in … That was not normal. This will never work.”
“I will never see that money again.”
The VVD would like an allowance for the entrepreneurs, but it is not yet clear what it should look like. In the two Brabant sellers, confidence in that help from The Hague is not great. Jan invested considerably in his building last year. “New sprinklers, 18,000 euros. Normally you earn back such an investment, but if the ban comes, it will not work,” he says.
The total financial consequences for Jan are in the tons, he thinks. “My store was built for the sale of fireworks, with fire -safe bunkers. No buyer benefits from that, so the value of the building will fall enormously.”
Maurice is also sitting with safes and a store with which he cannot do anything if the prohibition continues. “The entire sector is just deleted. I think that is unprecedented.”
“That ban will never come.”
Jan had not seen this coming at all. In 2022 he said to Omroep Brabant: “That ban will never come!” “VVD and PVV were always against. They said that the prohibition would have the opposite effect. And now they suddenly collapse.”
He is disappointed by the turn of the VVD. “Last year we doubted whether we would have those sprinklers installed. We thought: the VVD is against, so that will be okay. And now that this sudden change. I really hope for a generous fee. If I had known this, I would never have made that investment.”