A champion bagpiper has been banned from busking in Dunedin's main street, raising concerns that the city has lost its Scottish soul.
Twenty-one-year-old Simon McLean is shocked by the ban, as bagpipes have been a familiar sound in the Edinburgh of the South.
He had obtained a busking permit from the Dunedin City Council and permission from Scottish Shop manager Kaye Foster to perform outside her store.
But the city council told Mr McLean his bagpipes were too noisy and say under the Resource Management Act, they can confiscate his pipes if he tries busking again.
"With the current law it takes one person to complain, and that can ruin it for hundreds of other people that love it," Mr McLean says.
The Dunedin City Council insists it is not specifically targeting bagpipers, but is bound to respond to any noise complaints it does receive.
However Mr McLean is not giving up. He has already booked a meeting with Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin and plans to be piping again on the city streets tomorrow.
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