Musicians protest busking ban in London’s Leicester Square

More than 30 buskers gathered in London’s Leicester Square to mark the last day of busking at two designated performance pitches in the square.

The pitches have been suspended from today (April 17) after the City of London Magistrates’ Court served Westminster City Council with a noise abatement notice, having categorised the music played by the buskers as a ‘statutory nuisance’.

The council says it has been put “in an impossible position” by the ruling and that anyone who performs in the affected area from April 17 may face a fine, have their equipment seized or have their busking licence taken away.

The ruling resulted from a case lodged by Global Radio, which was heard in the magistrates’ court last month, in which the judge likened the noise of buskers repeatedly playing the same song to “psychological torture”.

‘A busy tourism hotspot’

The gathered musicians today called on the council to appeal the decision and to liaise with musicians to resolve the matter.

London regional officer for the Musicians’ Union, Simeon Scheuber-Rush, said the decision to suspend the pitches was “extremely disappointing”.

“Despite significant efforts from our members to comply with the imposition of the Westminster Busking Licensing Scheme, both their livelihoods and the provision of accessible, affordable street entertainment remain under threat,” he said.

“There’s no certainty that the imposition of further access restrictions to busking in this location would provide a resolution to the noise disturbance experienced by businesses located in the square.”

This, he said, was because the area “frequently experiences higher sound levels” due to regular events including film premieres and Christmas markets as well as unlicensed street entertainers, pedicabs and street preachers and “the noise synonymous with such a busy tourism hotspot”.