Firstly, thank you for your ongoing support for our campaign against the proposal to criminalise buskers in Birmingham. You have helped us to send a strong message to Birmingham City Council. Let's hope they listen! Sadly, Birmingham's street culture clampdown is not an isolated case but reflects a wider trend across the country. Chester City Council are currently consulting on a plan to clampdown on 'antisocial behaviour' by implementing a PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) that would make it a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1000 to 'lie down or sleep in any public place' or to busk 'without authorisation' or in the 'wrong' spot as well as to feed birds. This is not only an attack on spontaneous street culture, but also on some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Our petition against these damaging proposals has so far been signed by nearly 7000 people. Would you consider adding your name to the petition? https://www.change.org/p/cheshire-west-and-chester-council-don-t-make-life-harder-for-the-homeless-don-t-criminalise-your-buskers Chester and Cheshire West Council have set up an online consultation on these proposals. It is VITALLY important that as many people as possible complete the online consultation and inform the council that they DO NOT SUPPORT a law that would criminalise buskers and the homeless. The link to the online consultation is here: http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/your_council/consultations_and_petitions/council_consultations/proposed_public_space_protecti.aspx We have prepared a detailed response to the proposals which you can see here: http://keepstreetslive.com/uncategorized/2015/08/ksl-official-response-to-chester-and-cheshire-west-councils-public-space-protection-order-consultation Feel free to use our response as a point of reference when filling in your own responses. The more people who express their principled opposition to these proposals via the consultation, the more chance we have of stopping them from being introduced. Thank you once again for your support and for taking the time to sign this petition, Jonny Walker Founding director of Keep Streets Live Campaign http://keepstreetslive.com