Birmingham’s new busking restrictions have sparked a backlash. Supporters say they protect residents and businesses from noise. Critics argue they silence culture and make the city less welcoming.
00:00Street music isn't just a background noise, for some it's part of what makes the city feel alive.
00:06Yet the council has drawn a line, saying amplification and instruments in certain streets cause too much disruption.
00:14Residents talk about stress, fatigue and relentless noise outside their doors.
00:19Businesses complain over customers driven away and staff losing focus.
00:23The order is meant to restore peace, but critics see it as a blunt tool that punishes creativity as much as nuisance.
00:30Yeah, I think it's absolutely huge and it's a wider picture as well.
00:35You know, initially, obviously, the biggest concern that we had initially was just the actual silence on the streets, you know.
00:43Like, as a culture, you know, like music is at the core of our identity, you know, like we're the home of metal.
00:50Or, you know, dance music, Indian classical music, like it's so, such a variety of art comes from our city.
00:58And if, if that music isn't felt on the streets, then it doesn't fit, it doesn't feed through to the people, you know.
01:04The pushback has been strung.
01:06More than 700 people have signed a petition arguing the crackdown makes Birmingham feel colder and less inviting.
01:14Musicians say the order silences talent that might otherwise draw people in.
01:18Supporters of the petition described busking as one of the few free cultural experiences left of the city.
01:24Yet the council insists compliance have been piling up for years and residents deserve relief.
01:31It's culture and it's music, which is such an important thing.
01:34So I think the people felt compelled to sign because, like I say, on a regional level, we care and we've grown up and it's our livelihoods.
01:41And then on a wider scale level, people understand what an intense, holistic decision this is to make.
01:46Such a heavy-handed, draconian decision to unbusking completely in the city centre's spaces.
01:53Behind the route is a bigger question about who the city centre is for.
01:56The council says it has to balance competing rights, workers, businesses, residents and performers.
02:03Some argue for compromise licensing schemes like London's or clearer rules on volume and location.
02:09But the council claims it doesn't have the legal tools to replicate those models.
02:14So instead, it opted for blanket restrictions.
02:16There has to be a compromise.
02:19There has to be a middle ground.
02:20I don't think it's an option.
02:21Like I know it's past the fact now, which is obviously quite a big challenge for the campaign to try and make a difference here because this has already happened and you're already on the back foot.
02:28But I think, I hope and I will that the council are open to work with us and the people I'm working with, like the MU and like various other organisations that will show their support in time.
02:39The conversation is going on now that the council will work with us to make a viable compromise to, you know, create a healthy environment for retail and for the public and for residents in the local, in the central areas, but also still allow this, you know, busking to happen.
02:54If it works across the rest of the country, there's no reason why we can't make it happen here.
