In total, 13 of the Netherlands 44 larger local authority areas are experimenting with voluntary firework-free zones this New Year, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday.

The councils are following the example of The Hague, which last year let locals themselves decided if their street or square should be firework-free. The council did not monitor if the ban was kept but did supply notice boards to define the areas.

This year The Hague has been joined by Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam in sanctioning self-determined firework-free zones, the paper said. Almere, Delft and Hilversum have also joined the experiment, which officials hope will reduce the nuisance caused by fireworks in a cost-effective way.

However, demand is so far muted. ‘People don’t want the hassle with their neighbours who do want to set off fireworks,’ a Hilversum council spokesman told the paper.

And one district in The Hague, which attempted to go firework free last year, has decided not to do the same in 2019 because of the problems, the Volkskrant said.

The government has refused to ban the sale of consumer fireworks, despite pleas from the police, local councils and the Dutch safety board. Ministers argue it is a ‘a valued tradition’.

Next year, Amsterdam and Rotterdam will reverse the process by banning fireworks in all but specially-determined zones.