November 13, 2019 12.54 pm This story is over 61 months old

Premises licences to rise for all businesses except sex establishments

The council cannot make a profit from fees
| Photo: stock

Bingos, bookies and arcades are among premises set to face a hike in the fees they need to pay to keep their licences in North Lincolnshire.

Sex establishments are the only businesses to see their licence application fees decrease.

Councillors on the Licensing Committee will examine a series of changes to fees at a meeting on Thursday, November 21.

Officers will tell councillors the review lines the authority up with current legislation and regulations and will allow the charges to be “robustly defended against any legal challenge.”

“If the council does not comply with the legislation and regulations, then it would be open to a legal challenge, which would have serious implications both financially and for the council’s reputation,” says the report before members.

They will tell the committee that the changes will make a “slight increase in income” but will help pay for additional resources and will not allow the authority to make a profit.

Under the review, many premises licences and personal licences will stay the same.

However, bingo premises will pay between £80-125 more for various applications, while family and adult gaming centres will pay between £72.50-200 more.

Some betting shops will face rises of between £80-250 depending on what they are applying for.

Other industries to see their fees upped include taxi drivers, tattooists, and pet traders and boarders.

Street traders such as market stall holders could see their consent applications go up between £15-176.

However, their licence applications will vary greatly, costing for instance, £35 more for an annual application but £690 less to renew it yearly. Quarterly applications will rise by £1,235 but renewal fees will drop by £13.

Sex establishment licences are the only applications set to decrease across the board, with venue bosses paying between £14-56 less.

A full list of the fee changes is available on North Lincolnshire Council’s website.

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