Piper hits back with petition (From Witney Gazette)

Piper hits back with petition

7:10am Saturday 12th January 2008 in Witney By The Page Turner

PIPER Heath Richardson has presented a 1,150-name petition to city councillors in his bid to stay in Oxford's main shopping street.

Mr Richardson, 32, has played to shoppers in Cornmarket Street for the past 14 years.

But last month some traders complained about his music and launched a petition to move him.

Dr William Waggott, a medical publisher in Cornmarket Street, collected 400 names for his petition. But Mr Richardson hit back, and gathered more than 1,000 signatures within a week.

On Thursday, Mr Richardson, from Chipping Norton, visited the town hall to present his petition to Jean Fooks, executive member for a cleaner city. He said: "I have been totally overwhelmed by the support I have received from shoppers and from other people in the city centre.

"People come up to me even when I am not playing the bagpipes and say 'well done mate, keep up the good work'. When the traders launched their petition to have me chucked out of Cornmarket I thought I would launch my own, and when I got to 1,150 names I thought that was enough to make my point, although I'm sure I could have collected more.

Watch a video of Heath Richardson in action

"I am determined to stay in Cornmarket but some traders seem pretty determined to get me out. But I am prepared to compromise, and would agree to play only at certain times, perhaps limiting my performances to three weekdays and some at the weekend."

Last month, Mr Richardson urged police to act after abusive comments about him appeared on the MySpace website - including the use of a four-letter word beneath a picture of him.

He added: "The abusive stuff is still up there on the Internet and I'm going to seek legal advice about it. It's a shame because my mum in Australia phoned me up to say she had seen it."

The Oxford Bagpipe Man Haters Club was formed on one website, with 200 members.

Dr Waggott, whose 400-signature petition called for tighter regulations for buskers, was unavailable for comment. Ms Fooks said: "It's only fair that we receive the busker's petition as well as the petition from the traders.

"At the moment, Mr Richardson is abiding by the council's voluntary busking code and I would like to see if a compromise can be reached in his particular case."

She added that the petitions would be forwarded to the council's chief executive and then presented to the council's central, south and west area committee.

The matter could be discussed when the committee met on Wednesday. She said: "Following this case, it could be a good time for the council to review the voluntary busking code - it might be sensible to introduce a statutory code.