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Ammi · 11-04-2025, 05:00 PM

Buskers will be banned from Leicester Square next week after a judge ruled they were inflicting “psychological torture” on office workers in the area.

Westminster Council said it had been left with “no choice” but to remove the street entertainment pitches in the world-famous tourist hotspot.

From April 17 all performances in the square will be suspended and entertainers who defy the ban will face fines and having their equipment seized.

See also: What next for London buskers?

Their licence to perform elsewhere in the borough could also be confiscated under the new rules. Letters were handed out to buskers explaining the plan on Friday.

It follows Global Radio, which counts Heart, Capital, Classic FM, Smooth and LBC among its stations, taking Westminter town hall to court over the noise pollution outside their Leicester Square offices.

Station staff described being “plagued“ by poor-quality musicians and said they had to wear headphones and work from cupboards to escape the sound.

Recordings made at their desks were played to Westminster magistrates’ court in a bid to prove the daily interruptions workers faced and featured renditions of ‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman and ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele,

The district judge said that “while the volume is the principal mischief it is clear that the nuisance is exacerbated by the repetition and poor quality of some of the performances".

He added that repetitive sounds are "a well-publicised feature of unlawful but effective psychological torture techniques" and ordered the council to stop the nuisance.

Councillor Matt Noble said: “Street performers are a much-loved part of our city’s identity, but we also have to balance this with a duty to protect residents and businesses. The court ruling gives us no choice—we now have a legal obligation to act.

“This is categorically not a ban on street performers in Westminster. Our next step is to comply with the ruling by suspending street performance pitches in Leicester Square, consider the court ruling and find a fair solution.”

Global, which counts the likes of Emma Bunton, Amanda Holden, Roman Kemp and Jamie Theakston as presenters, owns its headquarters at 30 Leicester Square.

The company, together with the Hippodrome Casino and the nearby Chinese Community Centre, complained repeatedly to Westminster Council about the noise from amplified buskers.

Rod Stewart and the late George Michael are among the famous names who started their careers busking in central London, including in Leicester Square.

Since April 2021, entertainers in London's tourist hotspots needed to apply for a licence as officials struggled to manage the growth of street art, floating Yodas and noisy stereo systems.

The move was introduced by the town hall after local businesses described "chaos", with "increasing noise disruption, intimidation, obstruction of premises, anti-social behaviour".

A Westminster council spokesman said the town hall had been put “in an impossible position” over the Leicester Square ruling and it had “always tried to make sure the right balance is struck between everyone involved”.

They added that the local authority knows “how much performers are loved by visitors and are an iconic part of the city’s tourist scene and are keen to make sure that buskers are able to continue and adding to the wider city’s cultural heritage”.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/buskers-ba...050056570.html

arista · 11-04-2025, 05:03 PM

They will have
to go up to Oxford Street

Ammi · 11-04-2025, 05:06 PM

…Oxford Street users are less vulnerable to psychological torture…?…

Ray. · 11-04-2025, 05:08 PM

What a joyless and unromantic age we're entering into.

Vanessa · 11-04-2025, 05:09 PM

Wtf? I love them and so so the tourists

Crimson Dynamo · 11-04-2025, 05:11 PM

would it not be better to get rid of the pickpockets and phone thieves?

Ammi · 11-04-2025, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray.

What a joyless and unromantic age we're entering into.

…none of us seem to be able to have any control over being able to change that, though…is the frustrating thing…everything is too focused on divides and cultural warring …everything is just becoming more and more ‘in isolation’…

Oliver_W · 11-04-2025, 08:56 PM

Bunch of killjoys.

Livia · 12-04-2025, 02:26 PM

Westminster Council is a collective of woke leftists, marking you as 'privileged' if you have a white face despite your actual background, or even if your parents read to you as a child. They use positive discrimination to employ non-whites whether or not they are the best person for the job and spend their time sitting around coming up with hare-brained schemes like this. A ban on buskers from the inept, inadequate bunch who brought you huge financial savings on cheap cladding for Grenfell.

Mystic Mock · 13-04-2025, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray.

What a joyless and unromantic age we're entering into.

This.

It's not Ed's fault that his Music isn't the best.

Mystic Mock · 13-04-2025, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ammi

…none of us seem to be able to have any control over being able to change that, though…is the frustrating thing…everything is too focused on divides and cultural warring …everything is just becoming more and more ‘in isolation’…

This.

And sadly there are a minority (but still a chunk) of weirdos in society that champion this stuff on.

It's tragic to see tbh.

Kate! · 13-04-2025, 08:36 AM

Ridiculous. There are some really excellent street performers I follow on Tiktok.

Ammi · 13-04-2025, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kate!

Ridiculous. There are some really excellent street performers I follow on Tiktok.

…when I was in town yesterday there was a violinist street performer and then randomly and spontaneously a couple began slow dancing to his music…

..those are the things that kind of help to balance with the good stuff because the media always draws us toward the negative…it’s things that I love to see..