00:00A North London council could introduce a new tax on some visitors staying overnight in the borough to help fund improvements to the area.
00:11Wembley Stadium in the borough attracted nearly 3 million people last year, with acts such as Oasis and Coldplay set to perform there this summer as well.
00:22The North London council, Brent Council, said that a levy would turn the high visitor numbers into a vital new source of funding to be used to tackle challenges caused by the area's success as a cultural destination.
00:39A motion to introduce a mandatory visitor levy on hotel and short stay accommodation was proposed at a council meeting on Monday, where it was agreed that the next step would be to seek permission to impose the fee.
00:56Brent Council stated that it was exploring ways of ensuring the benefit of their world-class events would be felt by all residents that fall within the Brent Council area.
01:09The influx of visitors brings economic benefits, with each non-sporting event at Wembley Stadium reportedly boosting the local economy by around £4.35 million.
01:20However, it also has negative impacts on residents, including increased noise, congestion waste and pressure on other council services.
01:33Brent Council's Mary Mitchell said that London boroughs should follow the proven model already in place in cities across the UK, such as Manchester and Edinburgh.
01:44She suggested that the money raised could be used to fund street trees, waste enforcement, enhanced cleaning and improvements to parks and green spaces as well.
01:57A tourist tax has been something that Sadiq Khan has previously mentioned, introducing to the whole of London, raising the question, what do Londoners think of that idea?
02:08Yeah, you just see it as like an additional tax, I guess, as it is. So it doesn't bother me in other countries. And as long as people are aware of it, I guess, before they get here.
02:18But I'd love to know why. Why is he doing that? Just to make more money?
02:22Yeah, well, I think most tourists who come to London, it's kind of maybe a once in a lifetime thing. It's going to be expensive anyway. And I probably hardly notice a little bit extra.
02:31I'd say. Yeah, maybe to local councils, to like affordable housing.
02:36I mean, people do already pay for TfL when they're on it, though. Do you know what I mean? So if it's just going towards the tubes, that feels a bit unfair because they're already paying for that when they get on it anyway.
02:43And if they're using it. But I guess if it's the day to day running and keeping things going and even down to councils, individual councils, like getting rid of rubbish and getting rid of like bottles of beer that are left outside when I guess tourists and people from London go on nights out, then it then that makes sense to me.
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