Southwark Council backs call for London tourist tax

Southwark has many popular tourist attractions, including the Globe theatre

A south London borough has backed calls to implement a London-wide tourist tax through accommodation costs such as hotels.

During a meeting of Southwark Council on 9 July, Liberal Democrat councillors initially proposed a motion for the introduction of a voluntary, £2-a-night levy for the borough, which is currently being used by cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh.

However, this was taken out following a Labour amendment and instead a London-wide levy was backed.

Southwark 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 gallery.

There are 6,000 hotel and hostel bedrooms in the borough, and at average occupancy rates a levy could raise more than £2m for the local area if a city-wide charge was in place.

The revenue could be put towards community safety measures and general upkeep and maintenance of the area, the meeting heard.

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 payers.

The 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 said.

This 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 accommodation.

Almost three 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.

Clarification: Copy has been amended to reflect that Southwark Council has backed calls to implement a London-wide tourism levy through accommodation costs. Original Lib Dem motion was Southwark-specific but Labour amended this to support a London-wide tourist tax.