‘Absurd’ charge on selling alcohol after midnight edges closer

Time please: a member of staff pulls a pint at the Jolly Butchers pub in Stoke Newington. Photograph: Hackney Citizen

A late-night levy on serving alcohol after midnight in Hackney is a step closer to becoming reality.

The council has given the go ahead to a consultation with local businesses that could see them charged for selling alcohol past 12 o’clock at night.

The consultation, agreed at a full council meeting on 20 July, is to take place between September and December.

If the council’s plans are successful the levy will be introduced in June 2017.

As it stands, the late-night levy would see 399 Hackney licensees pay from £299 to £4,440 a year, according to the value of their premises.

The council says the money raised will be spent on tackling anti-social behaviour, by paying for more police, wardens and street cleaners in the early hours.

But not everyone is convinced. Altino Fernandes, one of the managers at the Cat and Mutton pub in Broadway Market, says the move would be “absurd”.

He said: “It’s hard to even define anti-social behaviour, but it can be stopped in other ways.

“Hackney has grown because of its sought-after nightlife. The industry will just move somewhere else and the council risks turning the area into the grimy place it used to be.”

Critics of the scheme have previously expressed concerns that the charge would lead to businesses shutting down.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), said: “The late-night levy is a very blunt instrument and the government’s own guidance states that it should only be used a last resort when all other options have failed.

“The imposition of additional costs for late-night businesses is likely to have a detrimental effect on the area with some bars and nightclubs already facing tight margins.

“We urge Hackney Council to look into other voluntary and partnership schemes before imposing punitive measures on hardworking businesses in the borough.”

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “Hackney is well known for its nightlife, but we do get some complaints about the noise, anti-social behaviour and litter that can come with it. A late-night levy could help by paying for more police, wardens and street cleaners into the early hours of the morning.

“The voluntary levy in Dalston and Shoreditch has been well received by local residents and businesses and borough-wide schemes have also been successfully implemented by our neighbours in Islington and Camden.

“We will make sure everyone who runs a late-night venue in Hackney has the opportunity to have their say during the consultation.”