Pubs and clubs in the centre of Newcastle will be charged for selling alcohol after midnight from Friday.
The late night levy will see premises charged between £299 and £4,400 a year to sell alcohol until 06:00. The money raised will be used to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder, safety schemes and street cleaning.
Traders said while the charge was not welcome they understood the city council faced budget pressures and the money raised would be used positively.
Newcastle City Council said up to 280 of the city’s 350 licensed premises would be affected.
A board has been set up to supervise how the money will be spent in the city centre. Among the schemes it could pay for are taxi marshalling, CCTV improvements, street pastors, street cleaning and personal safety initiatives.
Originally published as ‘Newcastle midnight booze charge introduced‘ on BBC News on 30 October 2013. Follow the link to read the story in full.