Labour's Late Night Levy Will Hit Local Pubs In Freemantle

On Wednesday at Full Council, Labour will look to push through a new tax on pubs in the city. This 'Late Night Levy' was initially billed as a measure to ensure that pubs and clubs in the city centre, pay more towards the 'costs' of the city centre night time economy. It is claimed that the funds raised will be spent on policing and street cleaning, but the worry is that the money will simply backfill other budget cuts.

It has since become clear that this new Labour tax will hit all establishments in the city with a late licence, including local pubs and social clubs outside of the city centre. In fact a third of the affected 271 businesses are outside of the city centre. 11 of these premises are in Freemantle Ward, and include:

- the Freemantle
- the Freemantle Arms
- the Freemantle Social Club
- the Osborne
- the Pig and Whistle
- the Rover
- the Blue Keys Hotel
- the Waterloo Arms
- the Wellington Arms

Businesses will be forced to pay up to £4,400 a year, over and above their business rates and all their other costs; yet local pubs in Freemantle and their cusomers will gain nothing from the money that they are forced to hand over. There will be no extra policing in Freemantle, with most officers deployed in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights and Labour council cuts mean the streets are hardly ever cleaned.

The irony is that Labour have been campaigning to save local pubs. This new Levy will achieve the exact opposite result.