Laws and 'gatherings' in public spaces

orchidelic

a psychedelic flower
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Hi,
Was wondering if anyone had any idea what laws applied to gatherings on public land?
A few friends and I were thinking of having a gathering this summer on public land.
Our idea is just to invite people to bring drums/any instruments, for a mini festival.

I am presuming this is not allowed?

What are the laws?

If the laws do not allow for this, are there any loopholes in the laws?

Any information regarding this would be appreciated......

Orchidelic x x

dr_djembethm.JPG
 
What do you mean by public land? Land is either privately owned, be it by a person, business, council etc, or it is common land. Which of these it is, is probably crucial.
 
im not polished on this, but you most probably have to tread carefully. from the sound of it i presume you are planning this event on common land (land 'available' to the public). Our friend the CJA (in my limited knowledge the most likely reference to ne1 getting pissed off with you) legislates that any gathering on common land must have permission of either the 'commoners' (usually a group of citizens who own the land in the public interest) or, obviously, the council.

but of course, all this would depend on noise, the amount of cars/people, fire, safety issues, etc. i cant say i know of legislature other than the CJA that is likely to be dealing with an event of this nature. i think vehicles and alcohol would be your problem regarding public land, im no expert but there are many resources about the CJA that are quite easy to find on the net. just do a bit of research and be safe :Smile3:

remember, if it all ends up going pear shaped:
'its my first day!'
gets 'em every time

:Smile3:
 
Surely if what they are doing is acoustic, and not amplified, they can do what they like?
 
tortoise said:
Surely if what they are doing is acoustic, and not amplified, they can do what they like?

Oh if only that were true. I think people have been trying that at Stonehenge for a long time and getting their heads kicked in by nice Mr Plod. Trick is be peaceful and get lots of people there quickly and I think you will be left alone, the police are too busy chasing terrorists these days (or reading this of course, hello boys).

Have fun!
 
Think it depends if anyone minds, if someone complains to the cops, they have to do something about it if noone does, its not normally a problem, just have to pick a day when all the neighbours are on holiday and claim ignorance if people start prying :Smile3: either that or become invisible .....
 
its unlikely you will get prosecuted without a soundsystem

my advice would be to get a section 63 and squat the land for a night. its a lot more difficult to evict you without a rig
 
Its illegal to play "amplified music of a repetitive beat" without an entertainment liscence, even if its only your neighbours that can hear you. this means its ok to play classical music loudly, but not trance. This was just to keep the rave culture illegal cos there arent any laws banning raves. A bunch of people playing stuff acoustically isnt against the law, as long as its not trespassing.

Still, like with most raves and stuff, get enough people there and/or dont cause too much trouble and no ones really gonna bother with you. Hopefully the police have better things to do than take away soundsystems. Hopefully.

Have fun
 
seek permission of the land owner(offer him a few quid) don,t have a

soundsystem unless you are 1 mile from the nearest house,a noise complaint

is the easyest way to get shut down.do it on a weekend less old bill on duty

esp sunday!if you have more than two hundred peeps they need a minimum

no of old bill hard to find in the sticks .when they turn up elect a couple of

peeps to liase with them.treat them nicely and shut up any loudmouths.

have a trained and upto date medic around (health n safety) recycling

bins one for cans,1 for paper etc.have plenty of drinking water around

make sure you pick up all the rubbish! and take it to the dump!park cars off

the road completly preferbly in a car park.cars on the road can get you shut down.

alcohol dont openly sell it esp if they come cos this will defo get you shut down

customs and excise have more power than old bill! toilets make eco loos if you

can but you need to do something!

hope this helps if you get a few peeps involved it lightens the load you can,t

do it on your own but don,t be frightened off and have fun.invite some local/not

so local eco charites animal welfare they would help you set it up and have

good knowlegde !

c ya! lil dx
 
just come an hang out by the river in guildford on thursday nights where we spin fire, play drums an get battered all in lovely surroundings near the centre of town with no trouble what so ever... except the occasional comedy occurunce with the drunks that compete for bench space with us...
:sun:
 
F.Angel said:
Its illegal to play "amplified music of a repetitive beat" without an entertainment liscence, even if its only your neighbours that can hear you. this means its ok to play classical music loudly, but not trance. This was just to keep the rave culture illegal cos there arent any laws banning raves. A bunch of people playing stuff acoustically isnt against the law, as long as its not trespassing.
Have fun

"This was just to keep the rave culture illegal cos there arent any laws banning raves"

maybe because techno based music carries a lot further and is very annoying to people who don't like it. Also, when you have private land and you geta couple of hundred munters breaking your fences and leaving the place strewn with litter it's hardly surprising the authorities take a dim view of it.

I appreciate there are responsible sound systems but their punters in the main are not responsible. Even the rigs with the best intentions still cause environmental damage.

There is also the very real danger of outdoor rave type gatherings that people who take drugs at these events will drive. While it is ok to put yourself at risk taking drugs it is not fair or responsible to risk other peoples lives by being munted at the wheel.

It is also frowned upon because drugs, like it or not are a social ill and for whatever good they do for the user you can be assured somewhere in the supply chain someone is suffering. ie drug mules and prostitution etc. Drugs have always been inextricably linked to organised crime and gang culture.

There is also the school of thought that drugs are aneasthetizing (spell? bugger!) the masses and turning our youth into unemployable morons with the attention span of a haddock. A point not lost on me or my boss!

So, yes, there will always be an amount of oppression where outdoor rave culture raises its head. Especially when half of them will be hippies and only a stones throw away from marxism. Something rather at odds with our own culture. Rightly so IMHO.

However, times have changed in the last decade and the police and the politicians are becoming more tolerant of it. Not because they are all of a sudden enlightened as to the gift of psychotropics and the cultures therein, it is only because they have discovered that drugs keep the kids exactly where they want them... of their faces and out of the way. Complient and controlled.

Ketamine was the biggest gift a totalitarian government could ever have asked for. An addictive drug that makes you stupid that the people actually consume voluntarily.

So I expect that although the government would like to appear to be keeping a lid on it, they really couldn't care less either way so long as Johnny Landowner doesn't come to the police station whining about broken fences, meaning they will have to leave their cosy desks, put the paperwork on hold and actually have to do some police work for a change.

Food for thought.
 
abit of a negative post im sure the small amount of time i spend munted in a month really doesnt make me any more controlled.
i thort it was amplified eletronik musickia which was banned, the beat as such wasnt the issue it was how the music was made, as for ketamine its fucked up for sure but we already knew that didnt we.
 
Oscillating_Pixie_Pie said:
abit of a negative post im sure the small amount of time i spend munted in a month really doesnt make me any more controlled.

YEs but the proportion of clubbers out getting munted every week MUST be pretty huge.

Enough to worry about.
 
If the government wants everyone to be munted, and therefore controlled, then why is it illegal? You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either they don't want us on drugs cos it makes us stupid and unemployable, or they do, cos we're stupid and unemployable that way. Which is it?
 
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