ASB and Policing Act 2014, PSPOs what do they mean for public space?

ASB and Policing Act 2014, PSPOs what do they mean for public space?
Post Date October 14, 2014
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Category Articles, Bath, Blog, Camden, Liverpool

Keep Streets Live – protecting cultural freedoms and access to public space for the arts

Sweeping new powers hidden in the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 come into force on October 20th, and already local authorities are planning to use them against buskers. This act gives councils the power to introduce PSPOs (Public Space Protection Orders) which can be used to ‘ban’ activities in public spaces, even if they are not illegal. The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods in Bath, David Dixon, has stated that PSPOs will be used against buskers in that cityafter the Rector of Bath Abbey Edward Mason brought an evening service to a halt because of the noise he claimed street musicians were making. I will be taking part in a public debate about civic freedoms and public space with Rev Mason and Councillor Dixon this Saturday at the Battle of Ideas event held at the Barbican in London. Tickets are still available. Keep Streets Live will be at the forefront of scrutinising these new powers and their impact upon cultural and civic freedoms in the months and years ahead.

Meanwhile it is a year since the Citizen’s Kazoo Orchestra and the Church of the Holy Kazoo were founded as a protest vehicle against Camden Council’s criminalisation of busking in that previously vibrant corner of London. Our ongoing legal challenge against that policy reaches the Court of Appeal on November 13th with a permission hearing. On Sunday 19th October we will be taking to the streets of Camden for an anniversary protest busk. Because busking is a sacred act for the Church of the Holy Kazoo, and our hymnbook is every piece of music ever written and performed, our protest busk falls under the exemption granted by Camden to ‘music that is part of a religious service or ceremony’. Join us on Camden High Street from 1pm onwards. This is a link to the facebook event: All are welcome! Camden, we are not giving up on you!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1474664902822738/

Keep Streets Live exists to promote good relationships between buskers, local authorities and all users of shared public spaces. Whilst we oppose the use of blanket powers against street culture that criminalise harmless activity we recognise that councils need guidance for the oversight of busking. We are proud to have worked alongside Liverpool City Council and the Business Improvement District to produce a Best Practise Guidance document for street culture. We are now part of a London Mayoral Taskforce for the oversight of busking where we have been sharing the contents of the Liverpool document with the Mayor’s team. We believe that the principles in this guidance provide a working template not just for Liverpool but for other towns and cities in the UK and beyond that want to encourage harmonious relationships between those who share our public spaces whilst preserving a vibrant street culture. In a free society, freedom of expression must be protected and this guidance is a clear and workable alternative to the criminalisation of street culture and the application of coercive legal powers that some local authorities turn towards all too readily.You can see that document here: http://keepstreetslive.com/uncategorized/2014/09/best-practice-busking-guide

Thank you for your continued interest and support. We hope to see you on a street filled with music some day soon!

Love,

Jonny Walker

Director Keep Streets Live Campaign

http://keepstreetslive.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/keepstreetslivecamden/
http://facebook.com/jonnysongs

Metro: Praise be! Buskers form Church of Holy Kazoo

Metro: Praise be! Buskers form Church of Holy Kazoo
Post Date March 28, 2014
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Category Blog, Camden, Press

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Published by the Metro on 27th March 2014.

Even the humble triangle must feel smugly superior to the lowly kazoo.

But the last shall be first, the Bible tells us – and the once sneered-at standby of the one-man-band now finds itself deified by followers of a new religion.

A group of buskers has decided to get around a ban on performing in the street by forming the Church of the Holy Kazoo… and exercising the human right to preach in public.

Church founder Ben Van der Velde said: ‘Our religion doesn’t have too many rules, but the main ones are that every song ever written is a hymn and busking is a form of worship.

‘That means that. if the council or anyone else try to stop us from performing on the street, then they are impinging our religious freedoms.’

The inspiration for the new church arrived, 30-year-old Mr Van der Velde insists, when he was spoken to by the Great Golden Kazoo in the sky.

It just so happened that his spiritual vision came just in time to counter a threat from Camden council, which this week banned amplified street music and introduced a requirement for unplugged performers to buy licences.

It has enraged buskers in the north London borough, who say bosses are trying to ‘gentrify’ a renowned musical hub.

The council did not comment on the church’s plans to hold its first service on Camden high street in the next few weeks.

Camden New Journal: Buskers set up new ‘religion’

Camden New Journal: Buskers set up new ‘religion’
Post Date March 28, 2014
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Category Blog, Camden, Press

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Published by Pavan Amara on 27th March 2014 in the Camden New Journal.

BUSKERS in Camden Town say their “religious freedoms” are being threatened by the Town Hall after forming a new religion that deifies “the humble kazoo”.

The move comes after the buskers lost a High Court battle over Camden Council’s new licensing policy for street performers.

The rules, which came into force on Monday, demand they have licences, ban amplified music and set a 9pm curfew for performances.

Signs have gone up in Camden Town warning buskers they need licences.

Instruments can be confiscated under the new rules, which the Town Hall says it introduced to protect residents from disturbance.

In the latest protest, musician campaigners say the council cannot ban their “religion”, which does not have a name yet but centres around music and instruments.

On Monday, around a dozen buskers performed close to Camden Town underground station without a licence. They then called police, the council’s noise service, Town Hall leader Councillor Sarah Hayward and community safety chief Councillor Abdul Hai to alert them to the performance. They said that an attempt to remove them would be a threat to their religious rights.

Neither police nor the council responded, and both councillors failed to answer their phones.

Busker Jonny Walker told a crowd of onlookers outside the HSBC bank branch in Camden High Street: “We are forming a religion. You do not have to drop out of your own religion to join. We are welcoming everyone from atheists to Christians, to Muslims and Jews, Hindus and every other belief you may already be a part of.

“We are very open. But we are a religion that respects music and our right to perform in the borough of Camden with freedom. We have hymns, and we believe in the holy triad of kazoos. We want to practise our religion in peace.”

Comedian Mark Thomas, who is campaigning for buskers’ rights, said “out of all the things the council could have done, they chose to criminalise busking without a licence”.

He added: “Talking with us to find the best code of practice would have been the way forward. Instead, we have this stupid law. Labour particularly has a habit of passing laws when they are not needed. This is not a good enough reason for a law.

“Camden is the London borough of music. Why would they do this, unless they want to change that? It could be that they are trying to change the tone of the borough, and want to gentrify it.”

A High Court judge ruled earlier this month that Camden’s policy – and the way it was introduced – was not unlawful.

Licensing committee chair Councillor Maryam Eslamdoust said:  “I am pleased with the judgment handed down by the High Court.  We had to adopt this regulation to address ongoing nuisance suffered by residents and to prevent public spaces from being monopolised.

“The court has affirmed that regulation is not prohibition and we look forward to a responsible busking scene living alongside our residents.”