Changes to the Busking and Street Entertainment Public Space Protection Orders

For stakeholders views on proposed changes to busking and street entertainment Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).

The findings of the six-month review showed the PSPOs have reduced busking complaints by 15.5 per cent between July 2019 and February 2020, compared to the same period in 2018/19, but some high impact areas still remain.

The busking complaint data for July 2019 to March 2020 shows 599 busking complaints were made of which 326 (55 per cent) are in the proposed PSPO variation locations. These 326 complaints were made by 96 individuals, showing the need to revise the PSPO locations and to reduce the impact caused.

A public consultation on the variations to the PSPOs started on 13 November 2020 and closed on 8 January 2021. A total of 80 responses were received and included views from buskers, residents, visitors and local businesses. The consultation showed that the variations were broadly supported by residents but not supported by buskers and some visitors. 

The aim of the PSPOs is to promote responsible busking and street entertainment and to balance this with the needs and rights of local residents, organisations and businesses so they are not detrimentally impacted by it, especially for those near to popular busking locations.

In September 2021 Leadership Team approved the proposed variations to the PSPOs, increasing some PSPO areas and adding one new area at Sloane Square.

The variations to the red zone (Zone 1) PSPO include one new zone outside Sloane Square Underground Station.

The remaining proposed variations involve removing some areas from the purple zone (Zone 2) PSPO and adding them to the red zone (Zone 1) PSPO at the following locations:

• Around Harrods, to include all the shop frontages up to 63 Brompton Road and extended along half of Basil Street from Hans Crescent.
• The stretch of Exhibition Road from the Science Museum up to Imperial College Road which was previously included within the purple zone.
• The area outside High Street Kensington Underground Station up to Derry Street and part of Wright’s Lane,

The purple zone (Zone 2) PSPO variation proposals include incorporating the following new locations:

• Outside Gloucester Road Underground Station from Cromwell Road to Courtfield Road.
• From 63 Brompton Road, to Knightsbridge Underground Station at the junction with Sloane Street
• Sloane Square and the junctions of King’s Road, Symons Street, Sloane Street and Lower Sloane Street (apart from the area outside the underground station that is proposed as a restricted area within the red zone)
• High Street Kensington from Campden Hill Road to Kensington Church Street and on both sides of Kensington High Street from Derry Street to Young Street.