Boris Johnson launches investigation to protect London nightlife

London mayor Boris Johnson wants to develop ways to maintain the city's nightlife to "compete against other world cities".

Although he'll be leaving his mayoral post behind in May, he's announced plans for a six-month investigation, the Night Time Commission, to find ways of protecting music venues.

Boris obviously realises the importance of the nighttime economy, said to generate £66 billion per year for the UK, and wants to ensure there's a fair priority split between businesses and local residents.

He said: "There is no doubt that the night time economy is hugely important to our prosperity and the life of our city, but there is insufficient oversight for the way it is managed and problems are mitigated.

"It is brilliantly successful, but night time activities can be seen as causes of noise and nuisance, whilst businesses complain that rising property values, the need for housing, licensing requirements and other red tape are damaging their operations, even leading to closures. If we are to compete against other world cities is vital that we develop policies to reconcile the competing needs and concerns."

According to the press release, the Commission will "make recommendations about measures to support the night time economy, including the precise role and responsibilities of a night time champion."

News of this swiftly follows the announcement that nightclubs have been removed from UK inflation data because of the amount of venues closing.

It's also another bit of progress in a similar vein to the Night Time Industries Association, set up to deter more music venues being shut down, and the Mayor of London taskforce which recommended appointing a Night Mayor.

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter