CAMRA is campaigning against the late-night levy.
This allows local authorities in England and Wales to charge licensed premises that open after midnight an additional tax to cover the costs of managing the late-night economy.
Levies are a threat to pubs which are already excessively taxed: an extra financial burden could actually lead to closures.
Small, community pubs would be disproportionately affected: any that restrict their licensing hours to avoid the levy would lose trade as a result.
There are currently no levies in the Sefton and West Lancs area, but they were imposed in Liverpool earlier this year.
They do seem to be spreading. Tower Hamlets in London has just followed Liverpool’s example and joined Camden, Chelmsford, the City of London, Islington, Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton.
None has been taken up by Welsh councils, and Cheltenham has withdrawn its levy.
John Cryne, of Camra, said: “We are seeing a worrying trend of more and more councils considering late -night levies, without thinking of the effect this will have on valued community pubs.
“We are proud of the variety of pubs that we have, but introducing a levy is just penalising local businesses when the majority contribute positively to the night time economy.”
Just treating pubs as cash cows that can keep on paying has led to thousands of closures in recent years and is just a lazy political alternative to taking steps that may require more time and effort, but which in the long run would be more effective.
Consequently, Camra and the British Beer and Pub Association have produced a joint report about the late night levy. It explains
how schemes such as PubWatch, Purple Flag, Best Bar None and Business Improvement Districts are better ways to manage the late-night economy. In politics – as in life – the quick fix often doesn’t work in the long run.
Festival news
The award-winning Cricketers Arms in St Helens is holding another Autumn Beer Festival from October 23 to 29 at 64-68 Peter Street, St Helens, WS10 2EB.
See the pub’s Facebook page for more details.
The Wirral Beer Festival takes place from October 26 to 29 in Hulme Hall, 23 Bolton Road, Port Sunlight, Wirral, CH62 5DH.
More than 100 real ales and entertainment every session.
Go to: www.theshipandmitre.com.
The Southport and West Lancs Camra website is at: www.southport.camra.org.uk .
For previous Camra articles from this paper, go to tinyurl.com/vis-pubs.
