Clearly Late Night Levy in operation in the City of London
The financing of the further provision and management of public toilets in Soho is a critical issue in dealing with the antisocial behaviour of street urination and open defecation.
A number of means exist to get additional resources into the neighbourhood, including the late night levy. The City of Westminster has one of the highest concentrations of late night licences in the UK, yet no Late Night Levy, whilst adjoining boroughs like Camden, which also covers a third of the West End, has had one since 2016, covering nightspots like Camden Town.
The City of Westminster has over 3,700 licensed premises in total. These include nearly 500 pubs, bars and wine bars, over 1,000 restaurants, 56 theatres, 136 nightclubs and dance venues with licences to serve alcohol. In Soho itself, it is estimated that there are 495 licensed premises, of which 121 have late night licences with terminal hours between 1.00 and 6.00am. These late night licensed premises have a capacity of 22,827. More recently, between 2020 and 2023 an additional 51 new alcohol licences were granted, with a capacity of over 4,245. The West End Cumulative Impact Zone has been identified because the cumulative effect of the concentration of late night and drink-led premises and/or night cafés has led to serious problems of disorder and/or public nuisance affecting residents, visitors and other businesses. The extent of crime and disorder and public nuisance in the Soho neighbourhood arises from the number of people there late at night, a considerable number of them being intoxicated. New public services funded by the late night ley would include police, health and emergency, transport, and environmental services (cleansing and refuse services) in places like Soho under chronic strain from existing levels of activity, adversely affecting civic amenities and the quality of residential life.
The levy, before it comes into force, requires the licensing authorities to consult with the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor of London, licensed premises and other relevant authorities before deciding whether to introduce the levy in the area. Under the standard terms of the levy, the police would receive at least 70 percent of net levy revenue, with the licensing authority retaining up to 30 percent to fund other activities besides policing, although the precise division of this revenue split is open to negotiation. So, along with funding the enforcement of the law by the Police with regard to urination, defecation and other antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol intoxication, it can help fund facilities for the relief of such antisocial behaviour on the street, as well as the management of new or existing public toilet facilities.
After meeting with Camden Council representatives and discussing their Late Night Levy, it is clear that there is much to be learned from their experience in Camden Town since 2016, and scope for WCC to work together with Camden on late night issues across the whole of the West End.
With its 180 licensed premises and 8,000 residents, Shoreditch’s profile is quite different from Soho’s but it does share many of the same challenges related to the hosting of a thriving nighttime economy. As unlikely as it may seem, Shoreditch has even fewer public toilet facilities than Soho – just one, in Liverpool Street Station. What it does have, however, is a successful Late Night Levy, which it uses to pay for temporary toilet provision, additional policing, accreditation and training of door staff, and a WAVE radio system connecting them to a team of local enforcement officers – all of which make a night out in Shoreditch a safer and more pleasant experience for visitors, and help to mitigate against the sort of “resident cleansing” which has hollowed out Soho’s resident population in recent years. The amount levied on businesses is set at a national level, according to rateable value, and applied across the whole of the local authority, so it would not be too difficult to calculate the amounts involved annually, once it is established in which rateable value bands the late night licences exist within the City already.
Once the figures have been established and consultations undertaken, it would be realistic for it to be incorporated into the budget for 2025/26. At present, estimated annual Night Levy revenues for Westminster City Council range from £500,000 upwards.
There is also a case to be made for a London-wide levy which, if implemented, could make an even more significant difference. Furthermore, our survey of businesses’ views on potential solutions suggests some openness to the idea. When asked about the idea of introducing a Late Night Levy, businesses were fairly evenly split, with a small majority in favour. Interestingly, premises that are members of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), can qualify for a 30 percent discount, which could potentially strengthen the case for the creation of a BID for Soho.
Given the costs of the additional temporary facilities that the Council currently deploys in Soho, one does wonder why the previous administration has not done this already. It would also help the new administration to distinguish itself from its predecessor. More over if the late night levy is operational in Camden Town, City of London, why not in Soho and other urban villages of the City of Westminster.
