Newcastle introduces late night levy on alcohol

This Friday night will see Newcastle Council become the first council in the UK to introduce a late night levy on the sale of alcohol.

The levy means that licensed premises which sell alcohol between midnight and 6am will have to pay an extra annual levy of between £299 and £4,400, depending on their rateable value.

The council said that the money raised will be split between the council (30%) and the police (70%) and used to address crime and disorder, public safety, public nuisance and street cleansing relating to the supply of alcohol.

Councillor Linda Hobson, deputy cabinet member for community safety and regulation for Newcastle City Council, said: “Newcastle’s night time economy has a worldwide reputation and makes a significant contribution to the prosperity of the city.

“However, it also has less welcome consequences – noise, crime, anti-social behaviour and negative health impacts.

“The levy will ensure that businesses which benefit from the late night economy make a limited contribution to these costs, which will help the city remain as one of the safest in the country and attractive to investors and visitors.”

The Common Sense Alliance (CSA) is helping local businesses to work with their local councils, police and community to find alternative ways to tackle town centre disorder at night. Roy Ramm, a CSA spokesman and former commander of specialist operations with the Metropolitan Police, said: “This levy is punitive and unnecessary and punishes the majority of responsible operators for the irresponsible few. It does not tackle the root causes.

“I served with the Metropolitan Police for 27 years and there are plenty of schemes across the country where local police, the community and operators are working together to improve anti-social behaviour in town centres.”

Kami Kundi, the chairman of the Newcastle Quayside Business Forum, warned that this additional levy could force some businesses to close down. He added: “The nighttime economy is a vital part of our city’s business life, providing work for 4,000 people and brings around £350 million into the local economy. Newcastle City Council is wrong to increase financial burdens on these key businesses at a time when they are already feeling the pinch and they are already paying business rates to cover these public services.

“This levy could be the difference between some operators staying in business and not. The council has ignored the Quayside Business Forum’s consultation response but we will continue to scrutinise the implementation of the levy and hold them to account as the results become clear. In the meantime, we would also encourage the council to look at other schemes proven to tackle town centre disorder, such as helping to bring the Best Bar None scheme to Newcastle.”

There are around 350 licensed premises across Newcastle and around 270-280 licensed premises will be affected by the late night levy.