Plans for London to instate a Night Mayor have been given a boost by the backing of the Mayor Of London following a report produced by the Mayor’s Music Venues Taskforce called London’s Grassroots Music Venues Rescue Plan.

As FACT reports, the plan proposes a number of measures to protect London’s night time economy, with one of those including the election of what it calls a “night time economy champion”, more commonly known as a Night Mayor, a system established already in cities such as Amsterdam and Paris. Their role would include mediating between night venues, police and local authorities in order to raise and solve any potential issues.

The plan also suggests putting forward Agent Of Change principles, in which power is placed in the hands of venues when local developers potentially put their business at risk. This would therefore mean that developers, such as those building property, would be responsible for necessary measures such as soundproofing to deter noise complaints from residents.

This report follows the news that the UK has lost over half of its night-time venues in the last ten years, with the report itself specifying that 35 per cent of music venues have closed in London since 2007. Among those to have closed are the much-respected Plastic People (which shut its doors on the decision of its owners) as well as Madame Jojo’s and The Joiners.