Whangarei busker Patrick Malcolm Emery doesn't have a problem with the potential new bylaw changes. Photo / Hannah Norton
Whangarei busker Patrick Malcolm Emery doesn't have a problem with the potential new bylaw changes. Photo / Hannah Norton
Buskers in central Whangarei could soon be asked to audition if they want to perform more than three hours a week.
Whangarei District Council is reviewing its Public Place Bylaw, and looks set to adopt a number of recommendations around busking, horses on beaches and bikes and skateboards in theCBD at a meeting in two weeks' time. Councillors discussed the proposed changes at an extra-ordinary meeting yesterday.
WDC bylaw co-ordinator Mike Henehan recommended introducing a shorter time limit for buskers - a maximum of one hour three times a week - with those who display with "greater talent and professionalism" able to apply for a special permit to be able to perform for longer.
Currently, buskers require a $10 permit from council to busk in the Cameron St Mall, and are restricted to busking two to three times a week, 90 minutes per day provided they are moving every 30 minutes, according to WDC customer services team leader Marc Donaldson.
If councillors vote to adopt the recommendations at the September 24 meeting, talented buskers would apply to council to be what would be called "preferred buskers", he said. "The exact process of identifying a "preferred busker" and who will make the decision has not yet been sorted out."
Patrick Malcolm Emery is a singer and guitarist who performs in the CBD three times a week, usually for half an hour at a time, so the potential bylaw changes don't really affect him - but he thinks they are reasonable. "That's fair enough."
He's not sure if he would pass any auditions. "I think I'm pretty average, but I really put my heart into it."
Staff at two CBD stores approached by the Advocate supported the potential bylaw changes, saying while some of the buskers were talented, many became annoying after a while.
