Proposals to ban disposable barbecues on public land in a Kent borough look set to fall through.

The idea for such a ban at Swale council-owned beauty spots was first suggested by Teynham Tory councillor Lloyd Bowen in December 2022 but officers suggest it is knocked back for being “not a proportionate response”.

He argued that the dry summer of that year, which saw a blaze break out at Barton’s Point, left the grass in many of Sheppey, Sittingbourne and Faversham’s green spaces like “tinder boxes”.

Cllr Bowen called on the authority to introduce a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), allowing the council to fine people caught using disposable barbecues on Swale council land.

He stressed he was not intending to be a “killjoy”, saying: “It’s just to try to preserve the environment and the green spaces”.

However, 13 months on from the original motion, officers have recommended the environment committee does not implement the ban.

A council report reads: “Given the relatively low level of incidents recorded by Kent Fire and Rescue Service, it would be difficult to justify the introduction of a specific PSPO banning the use of barbecues in public open spaces at this time.”

Cllr Rich Lehmann (Green), chairman of the environment committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) a PSPO on barbecues is “in theory a sensible approach”.

However, he added that it would “not be a proportionate response at the current time to look at any kind of PSPO because of the very small amount of barbecues that took place in inappropriate places in Swale last summer”.

The council report details that “monitoring by Kent Fire and Rescue Services has identified four fires in Swale linked to disposable barbecues recorded over the past year.”

It notes: “There are some existing legal mechanisms in place to deal with the issue should it be felt required.”

Council bylaws from 2005 outlaw the use of anything “likely to cause a fire” on council-owned land, but do not explicitly prohibit disposable barbecues.

The bylaws require evidence of repeat offences and could lead to lengthy court proceedings. However, the seafront and beaches are not included.

The report goes on to say: “The issue with bylaws is having the resource to enforce them and if we were to enforce, there is currently no option to impose an immediate fine.”

Cllr Lehmann argued “anything like that [enforcement and PSPOs] requires officer time and resources, and effectively costs the council money.

“So whilst it might be the right thing to do at the moment, evidence doesn’t support it.

“We have to justify if we’ve got wardens that are going out looking for this kind of thing, we have to justify that expenditure.

“Whilst it would be great to have a big team looking after this kind of thing and keeping residents safe, it is a balancing act financially and it’s always the case of looking at the full set of data and seeing where that money can be better spent to give the best value for money for residents of Swale.”

The Boughton and Courtenay representative stressed that the authority will monitor fires, and added: “If next summer we see a big increase in disposable barbecues in inappropriate places, we can then review that and look at bringing in a PSPO if we need to.”

A spokesman for Swale council said: “As discussed in the report, we are evaluating our options regarding the use of barbecues in our open spaces.

“Members will be reviewing the report at the environment committee on January 17.”