Latest news with #BrentCouncil
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Tourist tax a 'step closer' in Southwark
Plans to introduce a tourist tax in Southwark, which could raise millions for the area, have moved a step closer after the local council agreed to go is home to some of London's most visited attractions and areas including London Bridge, the Shard, the Globe theatre and the Tate Modern art are 6,000 hotel and hostel bedrooms in the borough, and at average occupancy rates a levy could raise over £2 million. The revenue could be put towards community safety measures and general upkeep and maintenance of the area. The impact of visitors to areas such as the Bermondsey Beer Mile could be eased by a tourist tax contribution towards cleaning up so costs are not entirely shouldered by council tax Liberal Democrats on the council had originally proposed a voluntary, £2-a-night fee, which is already used in Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was amended to the motion both the Lib Dem and Labour groups on the council agreed. The move comes after Brent Council passed a similar motion in July which could see a mandatory visitor levy on hotel and short-stay 3 million UK and international visitors attended events at Wembley Stadium. Brent Council said the number of visitors brings "very real challenges" and it wanted to make sure visitors "contribute fairly" to the area's upkeep.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Fly-tipping clampdown sees fines double in Brent
Fly-tipping fines have more than doubled in the north-west London borough of Brent, its council has than 5,700 enforcement actions have been taken over the past 12 months, up from around 2,700 the year a result, fines also increased by over £100,000 over the same period as part of its clampdown on illegal waste dumping, the local authority fly-tipping on public land rose by 6% last year, with over one million incidents reported in England alone. As part of its crackdown, Brent council has been holding what it calls Community Skip aim to remove barriers by offering "community skips" that visit every ward three times a year."We're on par with a neighbouring areas with the cost of a service," said Krupa Sheth, cabinet member for environment and enforcement. "But the reason why we've got something like our community skip that goes around all across the borough three times here to every single one of our wards is so that our residents can dispose of rubbish for free." On Saturday, along with the skip placed in Tokyngton ward, Wembley, council enforcement officers also paced the streets looking for evidence of who had dumped piles of waste was bagged in red sacks and left for 24 hours - meant as a clear signal that the team had been on the scene."I just hate it," said resident, and volunteer rubbish picker, Ferenc Furger. "Because this is where we live, this is where our children [are] growing up and I don't want that. It's just messy." Brent, like many boroughs, charges residents to dispose of bulky goods - currently priced at £55 for a collection of up to five Hamlets Council offers two free collections of up to five bulky items per year while in Richmond it is £81 per collection of up to five items. Brent has also partnered with Peddle Me Wheels, a scheme that repairs bicycles found dumped or abandoned. Some have been handed over to members of Willesden Raja Amjid Riaz, chairman of the Central Mosque of Brent said they planned to get a system in place where people could "take their bikes for free, enjoy them and bring them back for somebody else to share". In April, Brent council along with other London boroughs, also increased its fines to the maximum £1, fine, known as a fixed penalty notice (FPN), used to be £400. As a result of all these different measures, Brent council has said fly-tipping is down its progress, its enforcement teams say there is still plenty of work to do.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wembley could be latest hotspot to introduce tourist tax after visitor levy proposed
Visitors staying in a hotel near Wembley Stadium following a gig or a match could find themselves paying a tourist tax, after the local council said it is exploring ways it could introduce a levy. A motion was proposed at a Brent Council meeting on Monday to seek ways to introduce a visitor levy on hotels and short-stay accommodation. Brent is home to Wembley Stadium, the largest stadium in the UK and the second largest in Europe, which attracts tens of thousands of fans to music concerts and various sports events throughout the year. As the national stadium of England and home to English football, it can fill 90,000 seats, selling out matches as well as hosting the likes of Oasis and Coldplay in upcoming gigs. The stadium brings economic benefits for Brent when fans flock to the venue, boosting the local economy by roughly £4.35m every time a non-sporting event is held. However, the large crowds also usher in increased noise, pollution, congestion and pressure on council services. To combat this, Brent Council is exploring ways of ensuring "the benefit of our world-class events are felt by all residents", according to the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). After Monday's discussion, the council ultimately passed the motion and is starting the next step of getting permission from the central government to impose a levy. Councillor Mary Mitchell added that London boroughs should take inspiration from other cities across the UK and Europe that impose visitor levies on tourists, to then reinvest in local infrastructure. She said that the money raised from such a levy could fund waste enforcement and improvements to parks and green spaces. However, the UK government at present has no law giving English local authorities the power to impose visitor levies. The LDRS said the council will write to the relevant Secretary of State requesting such powers to be bestowed. The council will also seek support from the mayor of London over a voluntary levy on stadium and arena tickets to fund cultural grassroots opportunities. While there is no official law in place in England, using legal workarounds has meant Liverpool and Manchester have introduced a form of tourism levy through initiatives run by hotels. Both Wales and Scotland's governments have passed laws allowing local authorities to introduce visitor levies, with Wales giving the go-ahead on 8 July for councils to start discussions to introduce these taxes by 2027. The Welsh levy will be set at £1.30 per person per night for visitors staying in various types of accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfasts. If visitors are camping or staying in a hostel in Wales, councils will only be able to charge 75p per person per night. The charge will also only be applicable is the visitor is over 18 years old. Edinburgh became the first city to vote in January to add a five per cent surcharge on visitors' overnight stays by 2026. Glasgow then followed, giving the green light to introduce a tourist tax on accommodation in its city by 2027. The Independent has contacted Brent Council for further comment.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Wembley could be latest hotspot to introduce tourist tax after visitor levy proposed
Visitors staying in a hotel near Wembley Stadium following a gig or a match could find themselves paying a tourist tax, after the local council said it is exploring ways it could introduce a levy. A motion was proposed at a Brent Council meeting on Monday to seek ways to introduce a visitor levy on hotels and short-stay accommodation. Brent is home to Wembley Stadium, the largest stadium in the UK and the second largest in Europe, which attracts tens of thousands of fans to music concerts and various sports events throughout the year. As the national stadium of England and home to English football, it can fill 90,000 seats, selling out matches as well as hosting the likes of Oasis and Coldplay in upcoming gigs. The stadium brings economic benefits for Brent when fans flock to the venue, boosting the local economy by roughly £4.35m every time a non-sporting event is held. However, the large crowds also usher in increased noise, pollution, congestion and pressure on council services. To combat this, Brent Council is exploring ways of ensuring "the benefit of our world-class events are felt by all residents", according to the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). After Monday's discussion, the council ultimately passed the motion and is starting the next step of getting permission from the central government to impose a levy. Councillor Mary Mitchell added that London boroughs should take inspiration from other cities across the UK and Europe that impose visitor levies on tourists, to then reinvest in local infrastructure. She said that the money raised from such a levy could fund waste enforcement and improvements to parks and green spaces. However, the UK government at present has no law giving English local authorities the power to impose visitor levies. The LDRS said the council will write to the relevant Secretary of State requesting such powers to be bestowed. The council will also seek support from the mayor of London over a voluntary levy on stadium and arena tickets to fund cultural grassroots opportunities. While there is no official law in place in England, using legal workarounds has meant Liverpool and Manchester have introduced a form of tourism levy through initiatives run by hotels. Both Wales and Scotland's governments have passed laws allowing local authorities to introduce visitor levies, with Wales giving the go-ahead on 8 July for councils to start discussions to introduce these taxes by 2027. The Welsh levy will be set at £1.30 per person per night for visitors staying in various types of accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfasts. If visitors are camping or staying in a hostel in Wales, councils will only be able to charge 75p per person per night. The charge will also only be applicable is the visitor is over 18 years old. Edinburgh became the first city to vote in January to add a five per cent surcharge on visitors' overnight stays by 2026. Glasgow then followed, giving the green light to introduce a tourist tax on accommodation in its city by 2027.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wembley Stadium's local council plans to tax overnight visitors
A north London council could introduce a new tax on some visitors staying overnight in the borough to help fund improvements to the Stadium in the borough attracted nearly three million people last year, with acts including Oasis and Coldplay set to perform this Council said a levy would turn the high visitor numbers into "a vital new source of funding" to be used to tackle challenges caused by the area's success as a cultural motion to introduce a mandatory visitor levy on hotel and short-stay accommodation - was proposed at a council meeting on Monday, where the next step - of getting permission to impose the fee - was agreed. Brent Council is exploring ways of ensuring "the benefit of our world class events are felt by all residents", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). The influx of visitors brings economic benefits, with each non-sporting event at the Wembley Stadium boosting the local economy by around £ it also negatively impacts on residents through increased noise, congestion, waste and pressure on council Council's Mary Mitchell said London boroughs should follow the proven model already in place in cities across the UK and Europe. She suggested the money raised could fund street trees, waste enforcement, enhanced cleaning and improvements to parks and green spaces. The LDRS said the council will write to the relevant secretary of state requesting powers to introduce the will also write to the mayor of London asking for his support for a voluntary levy on stadium and arena tickets to fund grassroots cultural to the LDRS, Manchester's £1 a night additional charge on hotel stays has raised £2.8m in its first year, while Edinburgh's 5% addition to accommodation costs is projected to bring in around £50m per year.
