Balloons
It is Rochford District Council policy not to allow mass balloon
releases from any Council premises or land. This is in an effort to
reduce litter when balloons float back to earth and due to the
potentially lethal effect that this litter has on wildlife, both
land and water based.
This policy was introduced after the Council was contacted by
the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) asking that the Council
consider either a byelaw or voluntary ban prohibiting such
releases.
The Marine Conservation Society campaign is supported by the
RSPCA, RSPB, the National Farmers Union and ENCAMS, the
environmental Charity that runs the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign.
This ban extends only to Rochford District Council premises or
land and only covers mass balloon releases, which can have
consequences locally and many miles away from where the balloons
were originally released.
The Council is not against people having fun with balloons in a
responsible manner, indeed, the Marine Conservation Society offer
alternative suggestions for using balloons in a fun wildlife
friendly manner which can be viewed in the related links below.