Part 4Public order and conduct in public places etc.

Demonstrations in vicinity of Parliament

I1137Loudspeakers in designated area

1

Subject to subsection (2), a loudspeaker shall not be operated, at any time or for any purpose, in a street in the designated area.

2

Subsection (1) does not apply to the operation of a loudspeaker—

a

in case of emergency,

b

for police, fire and rescue authority or ambulance purposes,

c

by the Environment Agency, a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker in the exercise of any of its functions,

d

by a local authority within its area,

e

for communicating with persons on a vessel for the purpose of directing the movement of that or any other vessel,

f

if the loudspeaker forms part of a public telephone system,

g

if the loudspeaker is in or fixed to a vehicle and subsection (3) applies,

h

otherwise than on a highway, by persons employed in connection with a transport undertaking used by the public, but only if the loudspeaker is operated solely for making announcements to passengers or prospective passengers or to other persons so employed,

i

in accordance with a consent granted by a local authority under Schedule 2 to the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 (c. 40).

3

This subsection applies if the loudspeaker referred to in subsection (2)(g)—

a

is operated solely for the entertainment of or for communicating with the driver or a passenger of the vehicle (or, if the loudspeaker is or forms part of the horn or similar warning instrument of the vehicle, solely for giving warning to other traffic), and

b

is so operated as not to give reasonable cause for annoyance to persons in the vicinity.

4

A person who operates or permits the operation of a loudspeaker in contravention of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to—

a

a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, together with

b

a further fine not exceeding £50 for each day on which the offence continues after the conviction.

5

In this section—

  • “local authority” means a London borough council (and, in subsection (2)(d), the Greater London Authority),

  • “street” means a street within the meaning of section 48(1) of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22) which is for the time being open to the public,

  • “the designated area” means the area specified in an order under section 138,

  • “vessel” includes a hovercraft within the meaning of the Hovercraft Act 1968 (c. 59).

6

In Schedule 2 to the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 (consent to the operation of loudspeakers in streets or roads), in paragraph 1(1), at the end add “ or of section 137(1) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 ”.