Bolton Council is asking residents for their views on changes to its late night levy after the start of another round of consultation this week.

The idea is for businesses to contribute to the cost of anti-social behaviour and criminal behaviour via a tax on those with a late night licence.

At the time of a round of consultation in the spring of this year the authority was looking to impose the levy on those with a licence to sell any alcohol between the hours of 3am and 6am across the borough as a whole.

Now in another round of consultation over six weeks the authority is looking to impose the levy on those with a licence to sell any refreshment, including food, between the hours of 3am and 6am in the town centre only.

The businesses are split into Bands A to E based on their rateable value, or in other words their rental value, with the charges set by government.

All revenue is split between the authorities, in this case the council, and the police, in this case GMP, to be spent on their night-time economy team.

The Bolton News: The area affected by the late-night levy

Sue Haworth, cabinet member for regulatory services, said: "We thank those who gave us their views on introducing a late night levy when we consulted earlier this year.

"Following changes to the Policing and Crime Act we now are asking for further input from the public before these recommendations are put forward for consideration."

The consultation runs from now until January 22, 2024. To contribute go to bolton.gov.uk/directory-record/5043/late-night-levy-town-centre-food-refreshment-premises.

The charges are set by government. Here is a list of them:

Band A - rateable value of £0 to £4300 - £299/year
Band B - rateable value of £4301 to £33000 - £768/year
Band C - rateable value of £33001 to £87000 - £1259/year
Band D - rateable value of £87001 to £125000 - £1365/year
Band E - rateable value of £125001 and above - £1493/year
Band D x 2 multiplier = £2730/year*
Band E x 3 multiplier = £4440/year*

*The multiplier applies to Band D and Band E businesses where the sale of alcohol is their primary purpose or sole purpose.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.