Another Council seeks to remove Late Night Levy

The Licensing Committee for Nottingham City Council met on Friday 6 May 2022 to discuss the future of the Late Night Levy and decided to consult on the proposal to remove the levy.

The Late Night Levy, as you may be aware, is an additional annual fee that operators of licensed premises within the Council area must pay if their premises licence or club certificate authorises the sale of alcohol during the period between midnight and 6am (subject to a small number of exemptions as set out in the Committee report here).

The Committee felt that given the significant financial pressures on businesses within the hospitality sector as a result of the pandemic, removing the levy will reduce the burden on existing licensees and remove levy costs that may be considered a barrier to incoming and expanding businesses.

The consultation begins today and will run until 1 July 2022. A link to the consultation and form/table to complete and forward on to Nottingham City Council’s licensing team can be found here.

We would urge all licensees within Nottingham to respond to the consultation so that the Council are fully aware of your opinion as to whether the Late Night Levy Scheme and additional fee should be revoked.

Following the end of the consultation the responses will be collated and reviewed by the Licensing Committee to recommend a final decision on the proposed removal of the levy, which will then go to Full Council for approval. If the decision to remove the Late Night Levy is approved, it will come to an end on 31 October 2022.

We are pleased to see the Council considering this pragmatic approach which can only assist existing and prospective licensed operators and help the hospitality sector thrive once again in the city.

As always, we will monitor the outcome of the consultation and final decision and keep you updated.

For more information on this, or any other licensing legal matter, contact licensing solicitor Suraj Desor at s.desor@popall.co.uk or call 07880 382193