A role championing Oxford’s night-time economy has been created at Oxford City Council. Labour Party councillor James Taylor was appointed to the position last week at a full council meeting in an effort to support new businesses in bolstering the city’s nightlife, live music, and events.
Taylor will advocate for the importance of Oxford’s vibrant cultural scene, advising the Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture in decision making. The Councillor is one amongst four unpaid Champions for the city, with other councillors advising respectively on the issues of Heritage, Cycling, and the Armed Forces.
The introduction of this new role comes as the night-time economy faces decline nationwide. According to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), nearly 800 late-night businesses have been forced to close over the past five years, representing a 26.4% contraction in the late-night sector overall. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have accrued irreversible debts, failing to reopen sustainably. The cost-of-living crisis has simultaneously reduced footfall and customer spending.
UK nightclub closure has only intensified in recent years: 65 nightclubs closed between December 2023 and June 2024, a rate of closure only increasing since. Students and residents of Oxford experienced this first-hand with the closure of ATIK nightclub in June 2024, with Kiss Bar following suit later that year.
In a press release, Council Leader Susan Brown acknowledged the importance of small businesses in promoting musical talent and equal opportunity, calling Oxford “the home of Radiohead, Supergrass, Foals, Ride and Glass Animals”. Brown added: “Events, live music and the night-time economy are key industries in Oxford.” Taylor has also expressed a desire to re-establish Cowley Road Carnival, held only once since 2019.
Although the UK Government has pledged to tackle the problems facing the nighttime sector, Plush’s Company Director Stuart Hayles told Cherwell: “This has failed to materialise, and late night venues are still paying thousands of pounds a year on business rates based on estimated turnovers from before the pandemic.”
Coining a term for the increasing number of cities around the country where nightclubs are virtually non-existent, lobbyists have warned that the UK faces a crisis within the hospitality industry due to the rise in ‘night-time deserts’.
With Kiss Bar having been home to ‘Intrusion’, Oxford’s goth and industrial night, and ‘METAAAL!!!’, Oxford’s heavy metal club night, the decline of the nighttime economy threatens spaces for cultural and artistic expression. Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA, identifies this as an urgent problem for burgeoning artists and the wider cultural sector, warning against “the silent slide into night-time deserts”.
Local business owners like Stuart Hayles are ready to welcome the council’s new role. Hayles told Cherwell: “I am confident that they would be highly supported by businesses within the city.” A champion for Oxford’s nightlife could improve late night public transport services, introduce safety initiatives and monitor anti-social behaviour, all whilst bolstering the local economy.
