Brent sets out asks ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Brent Council has written to HM Treasury with six asks that would make life better for Brent residents and support the Government’s national missions of growth, fairness and pride in place.

Among these practical measures, Brent is urging the Chancellor to allow councils to introduce a visitor levy – a small charge on hotel and short-stay accommodation for people attending major events at venues such as Wembley Stadium that can be spent on the priorities of local people.

With millions of visitors each year, the council argues that it is only fair for some of that money to be reinvested into keeping local streets clean, parks green, and frontline services running smoothly. Similar levies are common in cities across Europe and in the UK, including Edinburgh and recently Cardiff City Council also proposing a similar scheme. We welcome recent reports that the Chancellor is actively considering proposals. Brent Council maintains that any levy that boroughs will be responsible for maintaining, explaining and collecting, must be one that boroughs help to design.

Brent has also called on the Government to back a new shovel-ready Overground for West London – championing it as a massive catalyst for productivity, jobs and growth in the capital. The proposed West London Orbital would run along an existing railway that today is only used for freight.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said:

“Fixing the small things is how we fix the bigger picture. People feel pride when their streets are clean, their high streets are safe, and their local services work well, and that pride attracts investment, jobs and the opportunities we want to support this government with unlocking.”

“That is why we are asking the Chancellor to back a new shovel ready Overground line for West London, to let councils charge a small levy on overnight visitors to London and to strengthen national laws so that we can finally say no to the spread of gambling shops that plague our high streets.

“Taken together, these quick wins are modest, achievable actions that would show how investment locally can rebuild confidence nationally.”

Brent’s six quick wins for the Autumn Budget

• Back the West London Orbital. Re-using existing freight lines to connect Old Oak Common, Harlesden, West Hampstead and Brent Cross West. The new overground would unlock 15,800 new homes and 23,000 jobs across west London and cut 650,000 car journeys each year. Brent Council is joining BusinessLDN, the West London Alliance and London Councils in calling for a formal Government statement of intent to progress the scheme. With timely Government backing, construction could begin as soon as 2030.

• Reform gambling laws to protect high streets from harmful clustering. Brent has more than 80 licensed gambling premises, disproportionately concentrated in areas of deprivation. Current legislation requires councils to “aim to permit” new applications, effectively tying their hands. Brent Council is calling for cumulative impact assessments to be legislated for at speed, planning controls on adult gaming centres, and stronger advertising restrictions.

• A visitor levy on hotel and short-stay accommodation. In Brent, Wembley hosts major events across the year, bringing thousands of visitors to the area. A modest levy on hotel and short-stay accommodation, already common in cities like Paris, Florence and Toronto, could raise millions of pounds for visible improvements across Brent. England is currently the only country in the G7 to prohibit local government from introducing a visitor tax, and London is the last major global city without one. International evidence suggests that visitor levies do not deter tourism and can generate substantial investment for local services. Bloomberg has estimated that a London levy could raise around £500m per year.

• A Cultural Contribution Requirement for major events. Ensuring that every Wembley Stadium or OVO Arena event builds a local cultural legacy. Concerts by Oasis and Coldplay drew 90,000 fans a night and a small nationally mandated levy, similar to the Royal Albert Hall’s voluntary model, would direct millions into grassroots venues and creative programmes.

• A long-term housing partnership between councils and Government. Brent has delivered over 4,000 affordable homes in five years and is on course to exceed 5,000 by 2028, but further progress depends on long-term certainty. To deliver affordable homes, we’re asking for a long-term partnership backed by fair grant funding, flexible borrowing and vital infrastructure.

• Sustainable local government finance to underpin all these ambitions. Brent faces a £30million budget gap over the next three years. London boroughs spend £5.5million a day on temporary accommodation, with 56% of England’s homeless households in the capital. Sustainable local government finances underpins all these ambitions. Brent supports long-term certainty for the Household Support Fund, reform of Council Tax and a review of the funding formula to reflect the high costs of providing frontline services in London.