Shrewsbury busker 'driven away' from town centre by new rules after complaints
A busker has been kicked out of Shrewsbury town centre – for being “unreasonably loud”.
Jason Allan has amassed over 1.3 million followers on social media and in just two weeks he’ll be performing his first-ever home town headline show in Shrewsbury.
But despite his success, the 26-year-old has said new rules drawn up by the council have forced him to leave streets of the town he calls home.
Due to "regular complaints" the council has issued Jason with a Community Protection Notice written warning, for "causing unreasonable disturbances to residents and businesses on Pride Hill".
The Council has said they have received complaints from both residents and businesses about the volume of his performances, and according to a letter sent to the busker and seen by the Shropshire Star, Jason can only busk for one hour at a time, and won't be allowed back in that spot - or anywhere 50m from it - for three days.
If he persists, he will be issued with a Community Protection Notice.
The 26-year-old believes he receives around one complaint for every five busks.
"I literally see thousands of people in the high street. If you've only got one complaint, I've done really well," he said.
"But they've used that as an excuse to say 'we've been telling you for years now'. They've written up these new rules with no votes, without even telling me about it. Just all of a sudden there's an email that says 'these are the new rules'."
Jason said he speaks to hundreds of residents and business owners who are in support of his music.
He said: "There's a real nice buzz in Shrewsbury and I get loads of support from the community. And it just seems like I've been shut up by a really small minority of people.
"You'd think that if hundreds or even thousands of people like something, that four or five people don't, the majority would win. It's a shame."
Because of the new rules, Jason said it means he can only busk on Pride Hill for around four hours a week.
"Imagine if I could just call up a magic number and all of a sudden you could only work for four hours a week," he said.
"Because I'm a busker they think it's just like oh move them on, but no. This is my full-time job, I pay my taxes and it's job-destroying.
"If I can only busk for four hours per week it's not enough to survive on. That's not enough to eat. It just seems like a complete disregard for my wellbeing because I might be a slight hindrance to someone else.
"It feels like they've made these new rules to eradicate me as a busker. The repercussions seem way bigger than the actual problem."
On Saturday, because of the decision, Jason left his usual spot on Shrewsbury's high street and performed in the pouring rain in Market Square in Wellington.
Despite the weather, Jason said the market town had welcomed him with open arms.
He said: "I felt so happy and at peace, I was excited to busk again. One lady came over and gave me a big hug because she was nearly crying at one of the songs.
"It reminded me what I do this for. It's been a very good experience."
Chris Schofield, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “Shropshire Council has regularly received complaints from both residents and businesses about the volume of Jason Allan’s performances on Pride Hill. The complaints are that the performances are so loud they are unreasonable and are affecting businesses and residents.
“Mr Allan has been liaised with repeatedly about the volume of his performances, but has not taken action to reduce the volume.
“Due to Mr Allan’s persistent behaviour, and continuing complaints that it is causing a detrimental impact, a Community Protection Warning Notice has been issued to him limiting the time that he is permitted to busk in the town. Community Protection Warning Notices are designed to stop a person committing anti-social behaviour.
“Shropshire Council believes that buskers are an important part of the town centre environment, but there must be a balance between street performers providing an atmosphere in the street and not causing detriment to businesses or residents.”
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