Local authorities will be able to license special “firework clubs” to set up New Year displays when the ban on consumer fireworks comes into force this year, the outgoing cabinet has decided.

The associations will have to meet a number of strict conditions and it will be up to local mayors how many permits they hand out. The associations must also be registered with the chamber of trade and will face a limit of 200 kilos of fireworks that fall into the F2 category.

The public will have to keep a minimum distance from the fireworks, and those setting them off should not have been taking drugs or drinking alcohol. They must also take an online course in firework safety, which junior minister Thierry Aartsen described as “low threshold”.

Local authorities will be able to introduce their own additional rules taking local circumstances into account.

The cabinet expects the new rules will lead to fewer sales and is prepared to compensate sellers who lose their businesses as a result. The Netherlands has some 800 legal firework sellers and the rules for how they should be compensated are currently being worked out.

The plan is based on draft legislation that was passed in both houses of parliament last year. The lower house and senate will have to vote again on the new regulations.

The emergency services, local councils and some national politicians have long campaigned for an end to the sale of fireworks to consumers, apart from the very lightest type.

Every year the New Year is celebrated in the Netherlands in a firework frenzy resulting in lost limbs and eyes and millions of damage to private property.

The Netherlands has also called for a Europe-wide ban on powerful fireworks, which are increasingly being used as explosives in gangland and private disputes.