Melbourne Buskers: Noisy Performers to Be Banned From Busy Swanston St

LOUD busking will be banned along a key CBD street amid hundreds of complaints about excessive noise.

Under a three-month City of Melbourne trial, Swanston St will be off-limits to amplified performances from August 1, and the ban could become permanent.

The shock move comes a month after the Sunday Herald Sun revealed that a pet hate of Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was loud busking.

“I ring up our street trading people and tell them to go down and shut them up,” he said in June.

Cr Doyle said yesterday that the council had received 264 official noise-related complaints about buskers from January 2013 to June 30 this year.

“Busking contributes to the vibrancy of Melbourne’s streets and is generally popular with residents, workers and visitors,” he said.

“However that needs to be balanced with protecting the amenity of people who live and work in the city.”

The Lord Mayor said the council hoped that making Swanston St a non-amplified busking zone would cut the number of complaints.

“We will reassess our position after the trial’s conclusion,” he said.

The ban will extend from Flinders La to La Trobe St, however amplified busking will still be allowed on Sundays from 10am to 6pm at the chessboard area near Cafe L’Incontro on the corner of Lt Collins St.

Swanston St busker Kier Stevens, 31, from Brunswick East, said the ban didn’t make sense.

“You need an amp because acoustic music, like just playing guitar, can’t get above the trams,” he said.

“Music adds to the city, it’s really good.”

Mr Stevens said that he usually asked permission from traders before playing outside their shops.

Council officers will report on reaction to the Swanston St trial and recommend whether the amplification ban should become permanent.

The council has issued 2064 busking permits and 42 applications were rejected over the past two years.

The top buskers, usually professionals, are allowed to perform in the Bourke St Mall, while general permits are given for other parts of the city.

Buskers must audition and permits may be cancelled without notice if a busker is deemed to be acting in an offensive inappropriate, dangerous manner or obstructing pedestrians, vehicles and shop entrances.