City council to consult for second time on late night levy

Plymouth City Council is to consult for a second time on introducing a late night levy for businesses that sell alcohol between 1 am and 6 am.

The council said the levy would apply to sales on or off premises, but there would be exemptions for certain types of business and premises in business improvement districts (BIDs).

Premises which serve alcohol but would not have to pay the levy include those with overnight accommodation, theatre and cinemas, bingo halls, community amateur sports clubs and community premises that form part of a church hall, chapel, village, parish or community hall or other similar building.

Premises in BIDs are meanwhile already subject to the BID levy. There are currently two BID areas in Plymouth – the City Centre BID and the Waterfront BID.

The funds raised by the levy, if implemented, will be used to support taxi marshals, CCTV improvements, street cleaning as well as enforcement and personal safety initiatives.

“It could also potentially be used to provide financial support to schemes that promote better management of licensed premises, such as Best Bar None or Pubwatch,” Plymouth said.

The local authority had put its original proposal on hold earlier this year pending a possible government Licensing Act review.

The council said its original consultation had showed the public were in favour of the levy, but the trade were against it, arguing that businesses open beyond midnight would take an unfair burden, when most alcohol was sold and drunk before midnight.

Cllr Philippa Davey, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities at Plymouth, said: “The Government has not carried out the review and is now unlikely to, so we need to look at this again to see how we can help provide much-needed funds to deal with some of the more negative effects of the night time economy.

“With more cuts on the way for our services and those of the police, we need to give this real consideration if Plymouth is to continue to offer a safe night out.

“The police estimate that they spend around £500,000 a year on cover relating to nights out in Plymouth – with budgets being squeezed, surely we need to ask those who profit from people drinking to contribute?”

The consultation will run until 4 December.