Another city considers late night levy

The City of York Council has become the latest to consider charging an extra levy to allow pubs, bars and clubs to sell alcohol after midnight.

As previously reported in the drinks business, plans by Leeds City Council for a new pub tax are expected to get the green light soon. The Leeds late night levy could raise more than £1 million in revenue, which will go towards cost incurred by the council and local police.

York Council is also considering its own levy, which again will go towards the additional costs for the council, police and other agencies in dealing with late-night drinking, crime and clean-up.

City of York councillor, Linsay Cunningham-Cross, said: “We are working hard with our partners to tackle the problems of antisocial behaviour related to alcohol. It’s important we all work together to ensure York continues to be a safe and pleasant place to live and to visit. The late night levy is just one of a number of initiatives that we are considering as part of this city-wide approach.

“This consultation process is a great opportunity to feed in ideas on how we can work together to ensure York’s night time economy continues to flourish, which is why we want this consultation to be answered by as many people as possible.”

A council consultation is now taking place with business owners and residents invited to submit their views before 31 August, with a decision on whether to introduce the levy expected in December.