A LATE-NIGHT levy of bars and clubs in Southampton could be approved next week.

City council licensing chiefs voted yesterday to recommend the proposed levy on to full council for final approval.

If approved next Wednesday, the charge would see city nightspots open after midnight charged up to £4,400.

The council, which has proposed the levy alongside Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes, says it would help to raise funds to cover the cost of the city’s night-time economy.

But there has been strong opposition to the proposals by a number of city businesses, who say they will be hit by another tax that could damage their trade.

Yesterday, the council’s licensing committee considered consultation responses from both residents in favour of the scheme and businesses against it.

They then voted to recommend that the council adopts the levy, which would come into force next April, at Wednesday’s meeting.