Lewes councillors back taxi and other licensing fee increases

On January 23, Lewes District Council’s Licensing Committee endorsed plans to introduce new fees and charges structure from April 2026, with a final decision set to be made at an upcoming full council meeting.

Before making this decision, the committee heard how the council had received a petition raising concerns about part of the proposed structure to increase fees linked with taxi licensing.

The petition, signed by more than 250 people at time of publication, calls on the council to: freeze fees at their current level; hold an independent audit of the council’s licensing finances; commission a study into whether the district has enough taxi drivers; and review what Hackney Carriage drivers can charge in fares.

In a press release issued ahead of the meeting, lead petitioner Sean Macleod — a former district councillor — said: “It’s clear the trade is struggling and after a 66 per cent fee increase last year to be hit with another 50 per cent [increase] in some cases this year is a clear kick in the teeth.

“It’s time councillors stood up for the trade and listened to their demands as they quite frankly have been ignored for too long.

“The four steps the trade are asking for are totally reasonable given the concerns the trade have … and their minimal expense.”

The committee heard from Jo Dunk, the council’s lead for regulatory service. She said: “We are actually in the process of looking at Hackney [Carriage] fares, which have been agreed to and consulted with the trade. It is purely a legal matter now to get final signatory on that Hackney fare increase; that over 51 per cent agreed to within the Hackney trade.

“I must point out that Private Hire fares are not something that we have any influence over.”

Ms Dunk acknowledged that the process behind the fee increase had taken longer than usual as a result of ‘resource’ issues within the licensing department.

She also discussed the requested study — known as an Unmet Needs Survey — which the petition argues is needed to understand whether the current number of taxis within the district meets local need.

She said such surveys are only legally required when a council has a cap on the number of taxi drivers it allows to have a licence. Ms Dunk said: “Unlimited licences can be issued, unfortunately there is not the appetite for people wanting to apply for that licence.

“We did research this last year and the quotation of costs would be approximately £20,000 to undertake such a survey and [the cost of] undertaking that type of survey would have to be met through the taxi budget. So in turn those costs would impact on the trade itself.”

Ms Dunk also noted how the council has commissioned an internal audit into the licensing department, which is due to take place this year. The petition had called for an “a complete, external, and independent financial and procedural audit” of the department.

The committee also heard how the taxi licensing fee increases had been deemed necessary as a result of the cost of the service, which was carrying a deficit of £140,869 at the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

Ms Dunk said costs had increased as a result of several factors, including the introduction in 2023 of a mandatory requirement for all taxis to have CCTV systems. This had resulted in the council having become the data controller for footage recorded by these systems; a responsibility which carries a significant cost.

By law, the committee heard, these costs must be covered by the licensing fees and cannot be ‘subsidised from general funds’. The council is also not allowed to generate a profit from these fees.

The proposed increases for the taxi trade include the costs of renewing or applying for a new taxi driver’s licence. These costs would increase by 20 per cent, when compared to the current year.

This increase would see the council’s drivers’ licence application fee increase from £340.20 to £409, while the charge for a three-year licence renewal would increase from £472.50 to £567.

Other proposed increases include the amount the council may charge to provide vehicle livery. This fee could be increased from £83 to £125 — an increase of 50 per cent. The fee charged to replace a door sign could also increase from £15 to £24.

Most other taxi licensing fees would increase by a lesser degree, however. Some fees — such as the cost of replacing ID badges and interior stickers — are only expected to increase by around 50p (less than one per cent in most cases).

Operator licence fees — the licence which allows a business to run a fleet of licensed drivers — are not set to increase at all.

The committee also considered the amount it charges for street trading licences.

If adopted, the new structure would see the daily and weekly rates charged individual traders both increase by 10 per cent. This would see the daily rate increase from £11.55 to £13, while the weekly rate would increase from £86.63 to £96 instead.

The annual rate for individual traders would double, increasing from £548.63 to £1,098. The annual rate for market operators is set to increase by 200 per cent — rising from £548.63 to £1,646.

The committee agreed to recommend these fee increases to full council, but also called on officers to review what “concessionary fees” could be charged to non-profit organisations and Community Interest Companies (CICs).