Pubs and clubs in Brentwood may be asked to pay for policing in the town centre.
Late-night levies – an annual fee charged to licensed premises – is one of three powers that Brentwood Borough Council could adopt to mitigate the problems associated with late night drinking.
The council is set to discuss the possibility of adopting the power, along with early morning restriction orders, which could restrict the sale of alcohol in certain areas, and the cumulative impact policy, which could restrict any further expansion of licensed premises, at a date in early June.
The Government say that the three measures – introduced as part of its Police, Reform and Responsibility Act – could help pay for the annual cost associated with alcohol-related crime and disorder.
Calls have increased for following two violent incidents between late-night revellers. In the early hours of Easter Monday a 19-year-old from Brentwood had the top third of his ear bitten off in a fight that broke out near Eclipse nightclub.
The attack comes 12 weeks after an 18-year-old front teeth knocked out in an assault on New Year's Day.
The 18-year-old university student from Hutton, was out with friends when he was attacked by a group of men at about 3.20am in the queue for the burger van near the Sainsbury's roundabout.
