Following on from our story last week, Michel Roux Jr slams Westminster tax on restaurant jobs…Some of the UK’s biggest cultural organisations have weighed into the row over Westminster council’s plan to extend central London parking charges into evenings and weekends, warning it will have a significant impact on audience numbers and revenues at the worst possible time.
In a letter published in the Guardian, the heads of eight organisations including the Royal Opera House, the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery, urge Westminster council to “reconsider policies which will have such a detrimental effect on the success of cultural organisations in Westminster and the economy of London in general”.
Westminster is planning to introduce charges of up to £4.40 an hour from 6.30pm to midnight Monday to Saturday and 1pm to 6pm on Sundays.
The political reaction has been fierce. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, called it “completely mad”.
More detail on this story and details of the letter published can be seen in the Guardian