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BOOZE TAB – YOU PAY

Council tax could go up to pay for 24/7 licensing regime

TAX-PAYERS in Camden are facing a weighty bill to keep the government’s controversial new licensing regime on track.
Late licences kick in for the first time tonight (Thursday) with dozens of pubs and nightclubs across the borough taking advantage of an end to fixed opening hours.
But while punters revel in ordering late drinks, residents – many of whom have objected to the pubs near their homes gaining later hours – have been told they will have to stump up for extra taxes to pay for the new system.
New Camden leader Councillor Raj Chada warned this week the whopping £1.1 million it has cost the Town Hall to process the hundreds of new licences is likely to be covered by tax-payers.
Camden residents are facing a far bigger bill than people in other areas of the country because of the borough’s high concentration of bars, clubs and off licences. The system was previously managed by licensing justices in the magistrates’ court but the massive workload has been shifted to the Town Hall amid spiralling costs.
Only a dramatic late intervention by the government is likely to ease the massive burden, finance officials have warned. A full review of the financial blow the new regime has caused and consideration of any potential reimbursement for Camden is not due until late next year.
Some bars are already submitting new applications after being left unsatisfied with the hours given to them at initial hearings.
Others have hired lawyers and are appealing, claiming they have been unfairly denied extra hours in the competitive new drinks battleground.
A series of court hearings have been booked up for January. In a last-ditch attempt to stave off an unpopular tax rise in April – just a month before the next council elections – Camden is hoping culture minister Tessa Jowell and her deputy James Purnell will speed up a reimbursement programme to plug the gaping hole in the Town Hall accounts.
Senior Labour councillors want to make sure the government keeps to its pledge to review the system.
In a letter sent to Mr Purnell on Friday, Cllr Chada said: “We are concerned about our increasing deficit of £1.1 million and the potential impact on council taxpayers if fees are not adjusted accordingly to allow us to recoup the costs of administering and enforcing the new licensing process.
“It is vital that a system for reimbursement to local authorities is put in place since the Independent Fees Review Panel is not due until Autumn 2006, when losses would have accumulated greatly. I urge you to make the necessary changes to ensure the licensing system is made more workable in the future.”
Mr Purnell met with Camden’s licensing team last week in a private meeting but could not guarantee that the government would come up with a speedy rescue package to cover the fresh hole in the Town Hall’s budget.
Despite the Town Hall’s normally close relationship with Whitehall, Camden has repeatedly told the government that it has got it wrong on licensing and has asked for authorities under most stress to be given extra discretion whendealing with later hours.
Cllr Chada added: “The current system is unforgiving of minor errors in the application process and we have no discretion to accept late representations (objections from residents), even when valid reasons exist.”



Angelino's finest are put to the test

WE came across Angelino Wines, sandwiched between two colourful and aggressively self-promoting Australian wine sellers, at Islington’s London Wine Event at the end of October.
Its owner is Farrell Anglin, whose imagination was caught by a lecture on the history of wine making at Southgate College.

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