A Shrewsbury singer has been ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £11,000 for offences relating to street trading on Pride Hill in the town centre.
At Telford Magistrates Court yesterday Jason Allan was found guilty of street trading – namely selling an event ticket – without being authorised to do so. He was also found guilty of distributing free promotional leaflets without permission.
He was fined £1000 for the first offence (the maximum penalty) and £2500 for the second offence (the maximum penalty), and ordered to pay a victims surcharge of £1400 and prosecution costs of £6826.30 – a total of £11,186.30
The case was brought by Shropshire Council’s licensing team and follows a series of complaints about Mr Allan over a four-year period and his persistent unwillingness to accept and comply with advice about what he could and could not do.
Frances Darling, Shropshire Council’s head of business and consumer protection, said:
“Mr Allan has been afforded every opportunity to comply with the council’s Street Trading Policy and local environmental rules about the distribution of leaflets, but ultimately he failed to do so. The council had no option other than to resort to prosecution as Mr Allan simply refused to accept that his music and actions had a negative impact on the wider community, and failed to change his behaviour.
“We welcome street entertainers and buskers as we recognise the important part they play in creating a welcoming and vibrant town centre. We do, however, need to ensure we protect residents, businesses and the town’s historic environment and for this reason we ask that street entertainers perform in a way that benefits all residents, businesses and visitors to the town. The ‘Shrewsbury Street Entertainers Guidance’ provides clear advice, which if followed, will ensure legal requirements are satisfied.
“We encourage all street entertainers to read the guidance and if they are unsure about their responsibilities to seek further advice; officers will be more than happy to help. Whilst we are sure that most street entertainers will do their best to comply, if anyone is found to be irresponsibly flouting the laws, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where necessary.”
Shropshire Council says their approach applies to street entertainers and busker across the council area.
