BID slams late-night levy

The British Beer & Pub Association's (BBPA) efforts to stop the Government's introduction of a late-night levy have been supported by the head of Nottingham's Business Improvement District (BID).

The chief executive, Sylvia Manser, has written to the Lords urging them to consider the implications of the levy, which is included in the Police Reform & Social Responsibility Bill, currently at committee stage in Parliament.

The BID scheme was established under the Local Government Act in September 2003 and allows business people, including licensees, to work with local authorities and invest money in projects to improve the safety and trading environment in designated areas.

Manser fears that if a late-night levy was introduced the BID will almost certainly fail at re-ballot, as the operators would not be able to afford to pay two levies. The BID has been responsible for the provision of taxi marshals in the city and has part-funded the setting up of a street pastor scheme.

She said the organisation has helped improve the standards of licensed retailing in the city and "we fund and organise the Best Bar None (BBN) scheme".

She added: "This would obviously mean that our organisation would cease to exist and a lot of hard work and worthwhile initiatives would fall by the wayside."

Richard Matthews, midlands secretary for the BBPA, is a board member of the BID and echoed Manser's concerns. He said: "A lot of good work has been done resulting in a sharp drop in alcohol-related problems since the BID's inception. Operators do not want to see their work go down the drain.

"There is no way they would stand paying yet another levy and the end of the BID could have serious repercussions in the future."

Martin Blackwell, chief executive of the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM), which led the pilot BIDs scheme in England and Wales, said he believes the levy has the potential to undo the good work of the scheme and undermine BBN.