Global Radio, the UK's largest commercial radio group, has launched landmark legal action against Westminster Council over alleged failure to control noisy buskers outside its Leicester Square headquarters. The company, which owns stations including Heart, Capital, and LBC, claims the council has not properly enforced busking rules, causing a 'nuisance' to its staff.
The legal action, believed to be the first of its kind, uses the Environmental Protection Act 1990, typically used to prosecute noisy neighbours. A three-day trial is set for early 2025 at City of London Magistrates' Court. Westminster Council has pleaded not guilty and declined to comment on the live case.
Leicester Square has two of Westminster's 26 licensed busking pitches. One allows amplified instruments, while the other does not. Between April 2021 and May 2023, the council received 5,070 complaints about busking, with Leicester Square a hotspot. Despite rules limiting performances to 10am–9pm and sets to 40 minutes, a minority of buskers are said to flout them.
A council licensing officer stated that Global Radio claims buskers cause a statutory nuisance and wants the council to take action. The row follows similar tensions in Covent Garden in December 2023, where performers feared restrictions would end a 40-year tradition.
