Liverpool bar and club 'late night levy' plans approved

The price paid will depend on the rateable value and use of the premises

A late-night levy on Liverpool's bars and clubs is to be introduced after councillors voted to approve the plans.

The charge will be introduced in April and will help pay for policing in the city centre and street cleaning.

Original proposals to charge up to 800 venues between £299 and £4,400 were scrapped in March after concerns they would not raise enough revenue to produce "significant improvements".

The fee would depend on the rateable value and use of the premises.

Under the revised proposals, which will be trialled for a year, premises in the Business Improvement Districts (BID) which make a financial contribution towards initiatives that tackle crime and disorder will be exempt.

Premises with overnight accommodation, theatres, cinemas, bingo halls and village pubs will also be exempt.

Merseyside Police estimate the annual cost of policing the city centre from midnight to 06:00 to be about £540,000.