Anti-Nuisance NOT Anti-Busking, Oxford

ANBO (Anti-Nuisance Busking Oxford, formerly HUSH!) is a coalition of people from many professions, on and around Cornmarket Street, who have united against the effects of the unregulated busking/street performance there. Among the members of ANBO are students, churchpeople, shop and office workers, charity workers, local residents and businesspeople who, in common, have had to put up with:

• Very high background volume levels as they try to work or study


• Discordant, repetitive and even tuneless playing from many buskers


• Anti-social, aggressive and even threatening behaviour from some buskers


• Headaches, extreme irritation, stress and damaged livelihood due to all the above

And just to show you how bad things can really get, here is an incident that happened this summer, involving a well known local bagpiper (pictured right >>):

"On 27th August, a childrens’ choir from Bonn was performing a school choir at St. Michael at the North Gate church at lunchtime. As verger of the church I approached the bagpiper and requested that he take a break or relocate during the performance. The bagpiper told me to f**k off, that his busking was paying his f***ing bills and that it was his job. I left, not wanting to be involved in an argument, and hoped that his conscience would get the better of him and that he would move on. On the contrary, the piper continued to play throughout the childrens’ performance and could be heard while the children were singing. Poor parents and tourists with camcorders probably had a third rate busker on tape to take home instead of what would have been enjoyable memories for them and the children. " Incident reported by Jo Reid, verger of St. Michael at the North Gate Anglican church, Cornmarket Street.

The aims of ANBO are to bring an end to all this unnecessary suffering whilst greatly enhancing the entertainment experience of Cornmarket Street. We therefore ask that those busking/entertaining on Cornmarket Street are able and prepared to:

• Play a fairly wide selection of tunes at a reasonable volume level


• Play with sufficient skill to entertain


• Follow the Council's own busking code of conduct


• Behave in a polite and pleasant manner

Because most people who enjoy the busking and street performance on Cornmarket Street are only passing through, few people are aware of how unpleasant the street can be for those who have to spend the whole day there. It only takes a minority of bad buskers to ruin significant chunks of time for people working and studying on Cornmarket Street.

Perhaps because of this, Oxford City Council and Environmental Health have failed to take any significantly effective action. Many people have also said that they think a vibrant pavement culture on Cornmarket Street is a really good idea. So do we! The vast majority of people we have spoken to in our research are very much in favour of busking and street performance in general. Let us work together to achieve a pleasant and enjoyable pavement/cafe culture on Cornmarket Street.