Buskers call for compromise in Birmingham centre clampdown plan
The order would also cover Victoria Square, Temple Street, Cannon Street, Needless Alley and part of Waterloo Street.It would ban musical instruments and amplification equipment, along with any associated noise such as from entertaining or preaching. However, the recommendation said council officers should also consider the feasibility of a permit scheme for city-centre busking. The proposals came amid concerns noise levels were impacting businesses, residents trying to relax at home and landlords trying to let properties.But among people responding to the consultation, one busker suggested a number of "significant compromises" could be reached, such as a restriction on amplification. "Without some sort of compromise with the busking community, Birmingham will become the least friendly city in the country (and arguably in Europe) for street performance," the musician said.
Another busker suggested: "Rather than restricting all performers - many of whom are professional and committed to enhancing the city's street culture - I propose that Birmingham Council consider adopting a model similar to that of Busk in London with respect to basic licensing."Such a scheme would involve an audition process and code of conduct, they explained. Stephen Brown, the Musicians' Union Midlands regional organiser, previously claimed the council was "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut".He called for a more "nuanced approach" such as permitting day time busking through a "better management scheme of noise control and agreed pitches".
A council report revealed the consultation provoked a "varied response" to the proposed PSPO, but when the authority carried out further analysis to find responders who live or work in the area, 53%, or 92 people, agreed the order was the right way forward. The report added it had to also consider feedback from businesses and organisations. Two PSPOs are already in force in residential parts of the city centre, which are due to expire in August, but the council acknowledged there had been an increasing number of complaints in surrounding areas.
This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Nice house? Labour wants to tax it, Kemi Badenoch tells Middle England
Kemi Badenoch warns today that Labour is plotting a tax raid on homes for the billions needed to fill the fiscal black hole. The Tory leader says Rachel Reeves saw property as a 'cash machine' to plug the gap in the public finances. The Chancellor is coming under pressure from both flanks of the Labour Party to bring in a 'wealth tax'. She must find £50billion in tax rises or spending cuts to balance the books, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said last week. Writing in the Daily Mail, Mrs Badenoch warns that Labour could change council tax bands or introduce a tax on the value of land, adding: 'A home is more than bricks and mortar. It is the reward for years of hard work, saving and sacrifice. It is security for our families. And it should not be treated like a cash machine for the Chancellor.' She says a plan by Labour's Welsh government to target property wealth by revaluing homes and pushing them into higher council tax bands could be introduced in England. And she raised concerns Labour could adopt a suggestion in the NIESR report that the party should introduce a 'land value tax'. The respected think-tank said the Chancellor should consider reforming council tax or even replacing it altogether with a land value tax. This tax, once championed by the party under Jeremy Corbyn, would replace stamp duty and council tax by introducing a flat levy on the price of land. The idea was last seriously proposed by David Lloyd George in 1909, but fears that it could become a new poll tax have deterred successive governments. Ms Reeves is under pressure from the Left and Right of her party to reform property taxes as MPs warn that the current system is unfair. Blue Labour, an influential faction within the party that is economically Left wing but culturally conservative, wants an overhaul of taxation on homes. Earlier this year it urged the Chancellor to consider changing council tax rules so that poorer parts of the country were not hit unfairly, adding: 'Our tax system needs reform to reflect new realities, including that most value is tied up in land and assets rather than income. 'We should consider taxes on assets, and updating council tax bands to ensure it no longer disproportionately hits those in poorer parts of the country.' Mr Corbyn's new party is expected to call for a land value tax to replace council tax. Other supporters include Labour peer Dame Margaret Hodge, Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake and the TaxPayers' Alliance. But a Treasury source had 'not heard' that such a tax might come in. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is planning the biggest shake-up of local government funding in more than a decade to divert money from the South to more deprived areas. The Treasury said: 'The best way to strengthen public finances is growing the economy, which is our focus. Thanks to our planning reforms, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said the economy is expected to grow by the end of the decade.' During the general election Labour said it was not planning to reform council tax and ruled out rebanding properties.
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
£35bn! Chagos surrender deal 'will cost Britain ten times more than what the Prime Minister claimed'
The Chagos deal will cost ten times what Labour said it would – according to the Government's own figures, it was reported last night. Official documents are said to show the UK will pay some £35billion to hand the islands over to Mauritius – compared to the £3.4billion previously stated by Sir Keir Starmer. Dame Priti Patel, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, accused the Government of 'tricking' the public after the figures, seen by the Telegraph, were released under Freedom of Information laws. She told the newspaper: 'Instead of owning up to the costs, Labour have used an accountancy trick to claim the amount was only a mere £3.4billion. 'We've all known it's a terrible deal with huge costs to hard-pressed British taxpayers. But for months, ministers in public and Parliament have sought to cover up the true amounts.' Dame Priti is expected to demand a correction and apology over the 'cover-up' from the Prime Minister when MPs return from their summer break on September 1. She said the cost was almost double the entire annual policing budget or could pay for ten brand new aircraft carriers, 70 hospitals or a 5 per cent income tax cut. The deal for the British Indian Ocean Territory was branded a 'surrender' by the Conservatives, who have warned against giving up the islands which are also home to a US military base. Under the terms of the controversial agreement, the UK will cede sovereignty of the islands by the end of this year and then lease back the Diego Garcia base. Sir Keir previously claimed that this will cost £3.4billion over 99 years, but the Tories always argued it would be more like £30billion. The Prime Minister told Parliament that estimates it would cost between £9billion and £18billion were 'absolutely wide of the mark' and suggested they were too high. However, the official document, which was produced by the Government Actuary's Department, shows the cost of the deal was first estimated at £34.7billion. The document shows civil servants were first instructed to lower the cost on paper to £10billion, to account for an estimated annual inflation rate of 2.3 per cent over 99 years, the Telegraph reported. Foreign Office sources told the paper that ministers had used a 'standard' calculation for long-term government spending and denied accusations that it was part of a 'cover-up'. MPs have previously requested the document in Parliament, but ministers have refused to release it. A Government spokesman said: 'The Diego Garcia military base is essential to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping British people safe. The average cost is £101million per year, and the net present value of payments is £3.4billion – this is less than 0.2 per cent of the annual defence budget. 'The deal is supported by our closest allies, including the US, Canada, Australia and Nato. 'The costs compare favourably with other international base agreements, and the UK-US base on Diego Garcia is larger, in a more strategic location and has unparalleled operational freedom.' Last night a government source said the £35billion figure was 'inaccurate and misleading'.
The Independent
44 minutes ago
- The Independent
Blow for Reeves as company hiring plans ‘at record low' in wake of national insurance hike
Rachel Reeves has been dealt a fresh blow on the economy as company hiring plans fall to a 'record low' following her national insurance contributions (NIC) hike. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said just 57 per cent of private sector employers plan to recruit staff in the next three months, down from 65 per cent last autumn, as they battle rising costs. The influential monthly report by accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Federation (REC) also showed a "further steep decline" in permanent worker appointments last month, with recruiters blaming weak confidence in the economy and higher payroll costs. Anna Leach, the chief economist at the Institute of Directors, warned the trend 'could undermine the UK's weak growth outlook further, hitting both living standards and tax revenues '. The CIPD survey of 2000 employers found 84 per cent of UK businesses said their employment costs had risen since changes to NICs took effect in April 2025, while half of care and hospitality employers said those costs had risen to a large extent. Ben Caswell, senior economist at leading think tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), said the findings suggest firms are dealing with the NI hike by cutting staff rather than raising prices, but warned these were now being driven upwards by the chancellor 's minimum wage rise, which came in in April. The central bank also blamed Ms Reeves's NI raid and the rise in the minimum wage for helping to push up the cost of the supermarket shop, as it slashed interest rates to 4 per cent in a bid to boost the UK's sluggish economy. Ms Reeves has also been warned of a £50bn black hole in the government's finances, which leading economists say means she may have to raise taxes, cut public spending, or tear up her fiscal rules in order to fill. On Sunday, she urged the public to be patient with Labour on the economy, saying that the change they voted for in last summer's election was 'never going to happen overnight'. James Cockett, senior labour market economist at the CIPD, said business confidence was 'faltering further under rising employment costs' and warned the situation could get worse. 'Looking ahead, some measures in the Employment Rights Bill risk adding further to the cost of employing people. This is why it's crucial that planned measures, such as the introduction of a new statutory probationary period and process for dismissing new staff, are carefully consulted on to ensure they can work in practice,' he said. Jon Holt, group chief executive and UK senior partner at KPMG, said: "The labour market cooled in July as chief execs held back from increasing their recruitment budgets. Economic uncertainty, the complexities of AI adoption and global headwinds are all weighing on business planning." Last month, ex-Manchester United footballer Gary Neville, who was a vocal backer of Labour at the last general election and appeared in a video endorsing Sir Keir Starmer, hit out at Reeves for her national insurance hike, saying it has hampered employment. Mr Neville, a businessman whose firms employ hundreds of people, said the chancellor had significantly increased the burden on businesses and that the national insurance increase was 'a challenge'. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said the government's jobs tax was 'utterly misguided'. 'It's dealt an absolute hammer blow to businesses across the country, especially to vitally important people-intensive sectors such as social care and hospitality, forcing many to cut costs and pause recruitment,' she said. A HM Treasury spokesperson said 380,000 jobs had been created since the start of this parliament, while real wages rose more in the first ten months of Labour coming to power than over the first ten years of the previous government. They added business confidence was at its highest rate in ten years, according to a recent Lloyds Bank survey. 'Since the election, we have struck three major trade deals with the EU, US and India, business rates are being reformed, and corporation tax is capped at 25 per cent. This is how we are delivering on our Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth and put more money into working people's pockets,' they said.
