[Update] I am editing this post and title as, after looking into the byelaws further, I was wrong to state that these changes are either dramatic or have suddenly take place, as they went into effect in 2000. They have been part of the law for a while now, even if I do think that they are extreme. (to me) For the issue of photography itself being allowed in the square by non-commercial users it is allowed. Commercial photographers need to apply for a licence, which is expensive.
Apologies.
I have just come across this PDF signed by the current Mayor of London that details the updated Trafalgar Square byelaws for 2012, and to be honest some of the laws are a bit extreme in my opinion. These laws have been in place for Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square for a while now, since 2000. I will list a few of the many itemsd that concern me:
1] Protest are banned from the square, unless you have specific written permission to do so. (People should be allowed to protest peacefully.)
2] The use of mobile phones/ radios/ video recorders/ cameras with video capability is banned. See point 5 (f)
3] No playing of musical instruments. See point 5 (d)
4] Make or give a public speech. See point 5 (n)
5] Commercial Photography is banned unless you have a licence. See point 5 (p)
6] Feeding of the birds. Really? One of the main things that Trafalgar Square is famous for.
What do you make of the new rules concerning Trafalgar Square?
This is to address some of the comments below. As I stated above, I had only recently become aware of these byelaws and was actually very surprised as to the extreme extent to which they reach. I have looked at the byelaws regarding Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square and how they have changed since, which is minimal. I am not a lawyer, but just someone expressing my own personal opinion, with my interpretation of those laws as read.
My main concern was to the points that I addressed, especially regarding Photography, use of mobile phones and one’s right to protest within Trafalgar Square. It seems that these laws have been either left unchallenged or have been ignored by the Mayor, who didn’t properly read it and as to how it is translated into law. It clearly states in section 5 part F, that the use of mobile phones (or their likeness) are not permitted:
use any apparatus for the transmission, reception or reproduction of sound or speech, except apparatus designed and used as an aid to defective hearing, or apparatus used in a vehicle so as not to produce sound audible to a person outside that vehicle, or apparatus where the sound is received through headphones
It was section 5 part P, that I was most annoyed about. I read it as applying to any camera users, when it does in fact pertain to commercial photographer only, as they require a licence.
take photographs or film or make any other recordings of visual images for the purpose of or in connection with a business, trade, profession or employment or any activity carried on by a person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate.
The byelaws just seem a little extreme to me. I know that people aren’t getting arrested in their droves for taking pictures of the Square, feeding the birds or talking on their phones, so why are the laws in place?
**Please note that I had to save the original PDF as 8 individual PNG image files, then convert to RTF files via online OCR reader and reformat as best as possible. This is as good as I can get it and is hopefully helpful for anyone wish to use the text as reference material.
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
TRAFALGAR SQUARE BYELAWS 2012
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY ACT 1999, SECTION 385(1),(2) and (4)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972, SECTION 236B
Contents
- Citation
- Interpretation
- Acts prohibited within the Square
- Feeding of birds
- Acts within the Square for which written permission is required
- Trading
- Seizure
- Court power of forfeiture
- Name and address
- Coming into operation of byelaws and revocation of previous Byelaws
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
TRAFALGAR SQUARE BYELAINS
MADE UNDER SECTION 385(1), (2) AND (4) OF THE GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY ACT 1999 AND
SECTION 236B OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972
The Mayor of London, acting on behalf of the Greater London Authority, hereby makes the following byelaws, which he considers are necessary for securing the proper management of Trafalgar Square, and the preservation of order and the prevention of abuses there.
1. Citation
These byelaws may be cited as the Trafalgar Square Byelaws 2012 (“the Byelaws”).
2. Interpretation
In the Byelaws
“the Act” means the Greater London Authority Act 1999a;
“the Authority” means the Greater London Authority;
“the Mayor” means the Mayor of London;
“the Square” means Trafalgar Square as defined in the Trafalgar Square Act 1844b;
“amplified noise equipment” means any device that is designed or adapted for amplifying sound, including (but not limited to)-
(a) loudspeakers; and
(b) loudhailers;
“animal” means any animal or bird;
“authorised person” means a constable, or any person acting to enforce the
Byelaws in accordance with an authorisation given by the Mayor under section 380 of the Act;
“the retention period” means the period of 28 days referred to in byelaw 7(2).
“sleeping equipment” means any sleeping bag, mattress or other similar item designed, or adapted, (solely or mainly) for the purpose of facilitating sleeping in a place.
3. Acts prohibited within the Square
(1) No person shall within the Square-
(a) do any act which pollutes or is likely to pollute water in any fountain or bathe in or otherwise enter any fountain or fountain bowl;
(b) fail to keep any animal of which he is in charge under control or on a lead;
(c) place any canoe, boat or inflatable object in any fountain or fountain bowl;
(d) use any kite, model aircraft, boat or any mechanically propelled or operated model;
(e) wash or dry any piece of clothing or fabric;
(f) fail to comply with a reasonable direction given by an authorised person to leave the Square;
(g) fail to remove any animal of which he is in charge from the Square after being required to do so by an authorised person;
(h) light a fire or barbeque, or place, throw or drop a lighted match or any other thing likely to cause a fire;
(I) obstruct an authorised officer in performance of his duties.
(2) An authorised person, a member of the armed forces or of any fire brigade or ambulance service acting in the performance of his duty does not contravene
Byelaw 3(1) by doing anything reasonably necessary for the performance of that duty.
4. Feeding of birds
(1) No person other than a person acting at the direction of the Mayor shall within the Square—
(a) feed any bird (which shall include dropping or casting feeding stuff for birds); or
(b) distribute any feeding stuff for birds.
(2) An authorised person, a member of the armed forces or of any fire brigade or ambulance service acting in the performance of his duty does not contravene
Byelaw 4(1) by doing anything reasonably necessary for the performance of that duty.
5. Acts within the Square for which written permission is required
(1) Unless acting in accordance with permission given in writing by the Mayor, or
any person authorised by the Mayor under section 380 of the Act to give such permission, no person shall within the Square-
(a) attach any banner or article to, climb or interfere with any tree, plinth, plant box, seat, railing, fence, statue or other structure whether permanent or temporary;
(b) interfere with any notice or sign;
(c) exhibit any notice, advertisement or any other written or pictorial matter;
(d) play or cause to be played a musical instrument;
(e) operate any amplified noise equipment;
(f) use any apparatus for the transmission, reception or reproduction of sound or speech, except apparatus designed and used as an aid to defective hearing, or apparatus used in a vehicle so as not to produce sound audible to a person outside that vehicle, or apparatus where the sound is received through headphones;
(g) project any missile manually or by artificial means;
(h) erect or keep erected —
(i) any tent, or
(ii) any other structure that is designed, or adapted, (solely or mainly) for the purpose of facilitating sleeping or staying in a place for any period;
(i) use any tent or other such structure for the purpose of sleeping or staying in that area;
(j) place or keep in place any sleeping equipment with a view to its use (whether or not by the person placing it or keeping it in place) for the purpose of sleeping overnight in that area;
(k) use any sleeping equipment for the purpose of sleeping overnight in that area;
(I) erect or cause to be erected any structure for the purpose of enclosing or restricting access to any part of the Square;
(m) collect or solicit money or any other gift;
(n) make or give a public speech or address;
(o) organise or take part in any assembly, display, performance, representation, parade, procession, review or theatrical event;
(p) take photographs or film or make any other recordings of visual images for the purpose of or in connection with a business, trade, profession or employment or any activity carried on by a person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate;
(q) ride any animal on the Square;
(r) interfere with, remove or displace any stone, paving slab or tree;
(s) cause or permit any animal or bird of which he is in charge to chase, worry or injure any animal or bird;
(t) engage in any organised form of sport or physical exercise which causes a disturbance to any other person using the square;
(u) unless in an emergency, cause any vehicle to wait, or leave any vehicle unattended;
(v) use any pedal cycle, roller skate, ice skate, scooter, roller blade, skate board or other foot-propelled device;
(w) tow or leave any caravan or trailer.
(2) It is immaterial for the purposes of the acts within the Square for which written permission is required-
(a) in the case of an activity within Byelaw 5(1)(h) and 5(1)(i) of keeping a tent or similar structure erected or using a tent or similar structure, whether the tent or structure was first erected before or after the coming into force of this Byelaw;
(b) in the case of an activity with Byelaw 5(1)(j) or 5(1)(k) of keeping in place any sleeping equipment or using any such equipment, whether the sleeping equipment was first placed before or after the coming into force of this Byelaw.
6. Trading
(1) Unless acting in accordance with the terms of a written licence issued by the Mayor, or any person authorised by the Mayor under section 380 of the Act to issue such a licence, no person shall within the Square-
(a) carry on any trade or business;
(b) sell or hire anything, or offer anything for sale or hire;
(c) expose or have in his possession anything for the purpose of sale or hire within the Square;
(d) use language which publicly intimates that any article, commodity, facility or service can be obtained within the Square or elsewhere.
(2) Byelaw 6(1) is a trading byelaw for the purposes of section 385 of the Act.
7. Seizure
(1) An authorised person may seize and retain anything of a non-perishable nature that is on the Square if it appears to that authorised person that an item is being, or has been, used in connection with the breach of Byelaws
5(1)(e),(h),(i),(j),(k) or 6(1).
(2) An item seized under Byelaw 7(1) must be returned to the person from whom it was seized–
(a) no later than the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the item was seized, or
(b) if proceedings are commenced against the person for an offence under section 385 of the Act for breach of Byelaws 5(1)(e),(h),(i),(j),(k) or 6(1) before the return of the item under Byelaw 7(2)(a), at the conclusion of those proceedings.
(3) IF it is not possible to return an item under Byelaw 7(2) because the name or address of the person from whom it was seized is not known-
(a) the item may be returned to any person appearing to have rights in the property who has come forward to claim it, or
(b) if there is no such person, the item may be disposed of or destroyed at any time after the end of the period of 90 days beginning with the day on which the item was seized.
(4) Byelaw 7(2)(b) and 7(3) do not apply if a court makes an order under Byelaw 8(1) for the forfeiture of the item.
(5) The references in Byelaw 7(1) to an item that is “on” the Square include references to an item that is in the possession of a person who is on the Square.
8. Court power of forfeiture
(1) A court which convicts a person of an offence under section 385 of the Act for
breach of Byelaw 5(1)(e),(h),(i),(j),(k) or 6(1) may make an order providing for
the forfeiture of any item seized under Byelaw 7(1) that was used in the
commission of the offence.
(2) The power of the court to make an order under Byelaw 8(1) is in addition to the court’s power to impose a fine under section 385(3) of the Act.
9. Name and address
Where an authorised person has reasonable ground for belief that a person has contravened any one or more of the Byelaws, that person shall give on demand his name and address to that authorised person.
10. Coming into operation of the Byelaws and revocation of previous Byelaws
(1) The Byelaws will come into operation on the date fixed by the confirming authority in accordance with the provisions of section 236(7) of the Local Government Act 1972.
(2) When the Byelaws come into operation, the Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Byelaws 2000 (as amended by the Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Garden (Amendment No.1) Byelaws 2002) made by Mayor of London and confirmed by Secretary of State on 12 September 2000, shall be revoked in so far as any of their provisions relate to the Square. This revocation is without prejudice to the validity of anything done under previous Byelaws or to any liability incurred in respect of any act or omission before the date of the coming into operation of the Byelaws.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Section 385 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 provides that:
“A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any byelaw under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction-
(a) If the byelaw is a trading byelaw, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or
(b) In any other case, to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.”
Original PDF:
Photography isn’t banned; commercial photography is banned. It was banned in the previous byelaws that applied to Trafalgar Square (the Trafalgar and Parliament Squares Byelaws 2000).
Feeding pigeons was banned previously (in the Trafalgar and Parliament Squares (Amendment No: 1) Byelaws 2002.).
Playing instruments was also banned in the previous version of the byelaws (as above).
etc etc.
Simply, this isn’t a particularly large change from the status quo (in fact, I can’t see more than the odd tidyup of wording)
Photography is not banned according to the document above….Photography for commercial gain is banned (at least that is my understanding of that point). As it stands I think you probably have to get permission for commercial photography in that area already.
I can understand that, but it also states:
“(p) take photographs or film or make any other recordings of visual images for the purpose of or in connection with a business, trade, profession or employment or any activity carried on by a person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate;”
Note that it states, “corporate or unincorporate”. To me that would indicate that the use of photography be it commercial or non-commercial is prohibited. Also, does that mean that even selling an image on say, Shutter Stock’ or similar would be deemed illegal, or posting an image that you took of the square on to your website, that also happens to use Google ad-sense which would therefore make the image again, illegal. Seems crazy and not at all well thought out.
Also, why is the use of mobile phones banned?
“(f) use any apparatus for the transmission, reception or reproduction of sound or speech, except apparatus designed and used as an aid to defective hearing, or apparatus used in a vehicle so as not to produce sound audible to a person outside that vehicle, or apparatus where the sound is received through headphones;”
@Mike Agreed. They need to clarify more as the specific definition of wording within the document.
“Note that it states, “corporate or unincorporate”. To me that would indicate that the use of photography be it commercial or non-commercial is prohibited.”
“Commercial” and “corporate” are not synonyms.
“Corporate” refers to an incorporated commercial entity, i.e. a private or public limited company, while “unincorporate” means a private individual involved in a trade, such as a sole trader or in this case anyone who just takes a photo and tries to sell it.
Obviously there is the usual problem of “professional equipment,” and a warden will probably stop you if are using a tripod.
The rules governing photography have, as far as I am aware, always existed in some form. The presence of those byelaws for Trafalgar and Parliament Square having been initially enacted in the 19th century.
It is also worth noting that the laws only relate to activity within the squares. They do not apply if you are standing across the road and wish to photograph the squares or surrounding buildings from there. In essence though it is easiest to think of the squares as like most of the South Bank, where it is private property that allows public access but bound by the landowners rules.
If you go to the page http://j.mp/w77m05 you will find the current byelaws, the proposed byelaws as well as a ‘Summary of key changes’.
I might suggest that after reading the documents you might want to revise your description of ‘dramatic changes’.
this is a big stupidity ….
is nothing on their official web page :http://www.london.gov.uk/week/publications
The byelaw on photography and filming would apply to the police or any security camera, yes? ‘As part of a profession or employment’.
It’s the ban on factchecking that’s really hurting London.
Suggest comparing the old byelaws:
http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/squares_byelaws_0.pdf
with the new ones, and then rewriting your post from scratch.
Ah I love it when people write articles about documents they haven’t read properly. Not feeding the birds isn’t something new nor is the commercial photography/filming part.
Mobile phones aren’t banned… It’s ridiculous to even suggest they have and if anyone retorts with 5f they clearly haven’t read the thing.
Feeding the birds has been banned there for years and as a result there are virtually no birds there at all anymore. Tourists taking photographs will always happen and cannot possibly be policed! I think it relates to the use of professional photography equipment more than anything. I’m much more worried about the fact that I’m not permitted to ice skate, use my canoe or wash clothing in the fountain. Damn.
You really should remove this post and apologise for the mistake. It is completely wrong, misleading and irresponsible to leave it in place. Compare the two sets of byelaws: the wording is identical and these restrictions have been in place for either 10 years (bird feeding) or 12 years (others).
It is only commercial photography *without a permit* that is prohibited in 5(p). As a lawyer I’d say that thegift73′s interpretation of the clause is completely wrong on its natural drafting.
Bloggers have a responsibility to try to keep things accurate and to fess up when they have made an error. This blog is continually doing the rounds on Twitter and it shouldn’t be.
Occupy London!
http://vimeo.com/35803378