BUSKERS will take to the streets today to protest changes they fear could land them hefty fines if they don’t smile enough.

Oxford City Council wants to bring in a Public Space Protection Order for the city centre to tackle antisocial behaviour, and part of it would mean fines could be dished out to buskers not following a code of conduct.

The code gives a list of “dos and don’ts” for busking, including banning the sale of CDs or merchandise, playing “very noisy instruments”

such as bagpipes, and asking for donations for performing.

If council plans are approved, it would mean people could be fined for breaching the code under a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which the authority will be discussing on June 2.

From noon until 5.30pm today, buskers from across the UK will take to the streets in the city centre and engage in “non-compliant” busking – playing music and ignoring the code of conduct.

The aim is to show how its possible to busk without the need for criminal law. It coincides with a private meeting on antisocial behaviour in general being held by council officers this afternoon.

Professional busker Jonny Walker runs the Keep Streets Live campaign, which protects the rights of buskers around the country and has started up a 5,000-signature strong petition against the PSPO.

Mr Walker, who will be performing today, said: “In most sensible places, everyone understands that as a busker you don’t annoy people, you find a patch to play and you aren’t too loud. There’s no need for this nonsense. It creates an atmosphere of fear and control.

"At a time when public resources are really scarce, you want to use them on issues of public safety, not people playing songs on their guitars.”

Oxford City Council’s code of conduct for buskers has existed for some years but without a clear method of enforcement.

Performers must not busk for more than one hour in the same place and then not return for two hours, must not ask for donations and must not sit on or wrapped in a sleeping bag or blanket if this would give the impression they were beggars.

The code also tells buskers to “Smile, enjoy yourself and entertain others”.

Local buskers in Cornmarket Street have also voiced their concerns.

One guitar player, who asked not to be named, said: “I wouldn’t call busking antisocial behaviour and it’s certainly not the same as graffiti and people begging.”

City councillor David Thomas, who represents Holywell, has criticised the proposed measure, calling it a “lazy” way to remove perceived “dirty people”.

Mr Thomas added: “Taken literally this could criminalise people for not smiling.

“The code of conduct is not best practice and there have been no efforts to improve it. I want it to go out for consultation if we are going to make it law.”

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said the aim of the code was to create a “level playing field for all buskers.”

The buskers code

OXFORD City Council’s busking code of conduct, available to view online, says buskers must:

1. Only perform within the designated entertainment areas.

2. Entertain only between 10am and 8pm.

3. Hold an Oxford City Council busker’s permit.

4. Smile, enjoy yourself and entertain others.

It adds that buskers must not:

5. Use mains or generator power for amplification. Music or voices should not be heard plainly at a distance of 50 metres.

6. Busk for more than one hour in any one place. Busking shall not be repeated in that place for the next two hours. Very noisy instruments such as bagpipes are not permitted.

7. Obstruct the highway (road, pavement or open pedestrian area). Buskers are responsible for ensuring that any people gathering to watch or listen to them also do not obstruct the highway.

8. Make use of street furniture, such as public seats, lamp posts, railings.

9. Busk within 50 metres of another busker or group of buskers.

10. Sell CDs or other merchandise.

11. Ask for donations or payment for performing.

12. Perform in a manner that is dangerous to themselves or to the public.

13. Act in a way, or say anything that is likely to cause an offence to a member of the public.

14. Position themselves on a footway or highway in such a way that could be deemed as begging by passers-by or the police, including sitting on, or being wrapped in, a sleeping bag or blanket.