Equity members are being urged to challenge Birmingham’s busking and street entertainment ban by responding to the Council’s consultation and logging their objections to the council’s proposed new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) by Sunday 25 May 2025.
Birmingham City Council has claimed that the ban is needed as a result of noise nuisance caused by buskers, street entertainers, and street preachers. The Council is seeking to extend the current busking ban in two city centre zones by widening it out to larger parts of the city centre, which would cover all of New Street, High Street, Temple, Cannon and Waterloo Streets and adjacent areas. If approved, the busking ban would be in place for an initial period of three years.
Ian Manborde, Equity Midlands Regional Official, said: “In a city that has already cut all of its arts funding, the creative sector is being delivered another blow by the City Council. This proposal will effectively ban all busking and any form of street entertainment in the city centre, hollowing out even more the already shrinking arts offer in the city and diminishing the street-level arts experience of residents, workers and visitors.
“This is massive overreach and will adversely impact Birmingham’s cultural experience. We have previously asked the Council to manage the situation for street entertainment professionals to earn a living, and the Council confirmed that buskers and other street entertainers are not their central concern. Despite this, the Council is moving forward with a blanket ban which would make Birmingham city centre a no-go for buskers and entertainers. Equity’s position is that a more balanced approach is achievable by permitting daytime busking and street entertainment in the city centre through a better management scheme of noise control and agreed pitches.”
Equity is urging members to respond to the council’s PSPO consultation and log their objections to this unnecessary PSPO busking ban.
Members can log their objections to the proposed PSPO busking ban and suggest viable alternatives here.
The consultation closes on Sunday 25 May. Any city centre-wide PSPO if implemented would commence in August 2025.
Respond to the consultation now
