Newcastle council raises £300k from late night levy

Newcastle became the first local authority to implement a levy - paid by licensed premises operating between midnight and 6am with the aim of funding initiatives to improve the night-time economy – in November 2013.

The full amount generated from the tax was £302,942, within the range of the council’s original estimate of between £300,000 and £400,000.

Figures published on the council’s website also confirm that the cost of administering the levy in the first year was £22,500 - therefore the net amount of the late night levy revenue was £280,442

A Freedom of Information request by the PMA’s legal specialist Poppleston Allen earlier this year revealed in total 240 premises contribute towards the levy in Newcastle (as of 7 October 2014) and 130 of those receive a 30% discount due to being involved in a best practice scheme.

The city has around 1,174 licensed premises in total.

Last month JD Wetherspoon won an appeal against Newcastle council’s refusal to allow the company to vary three of its pubs’ hours to avoid paying a late-night levy.

A separate FOI request to Cheltenham Borough Council found that it had raised £76,889 in the first year of its late-night levy – well short of the original £200,000 estimate.