Welsh district Neath Port Talbot is the latest council to have banned the release of balloons on public land after plans were officially approved.
The proposal to amend the existing sky lantern policy, to include a ban on the release of balloons from council land, was given the go-ahead at a meeting which took place last Friday (8 December). It means that people releasing balloons from council-owned land will now face a fine for littering.
Neath Port Talbot council is the latest to pass the ban on the release of balloons on its land, following a report on the environmental and wildlife impact.
The report said: “Due to the increasing body of evidence of the detrimental impact of balloons being released into the environment, this report seeks approval to extend the existing policy which bans the release of sky lanterns, to include the intentional release of balloons as part of any event.”
Councillor Des Davies, a member of the regeneration and sustainable development cabinet board, commented: “It is rather dangerous, you can see from the report why the proposal was introduced.”
The ban would affect places such as the popular Margam Park, the Gnoll Estate and Afan Forest Park.
Almost 70 councils across the UK have similar bans in place, while sky lanterns (which are often included with balloons under such legislation) are already banned by 20 of Wales’ 22 councils.
