Westminster council has offered to pay opponents of its abandoned West End "nightlife tax" half the £72,000 legal costs of their challenge to the policy.
The "olive branch" was extended yesterday in an attempt to bring to an end the expensive legal tussle over the authority's evening and Sunday parking charge plans which were scrapped last month.
Lawyers acting for Mayfair estate agent Peter Wetherell, who led a judicial review bid, have been demanding full payment of the bill, while the council's legal team had previously refused to pick up any of the costs.
However, in a letter to Mr Wetherell's solicitors, the council's head of legal services Peter Large said "we will take a realistic and proportionate approach to the question of costs with a view to reaching agreement". The letter says it will pay half the legal costs, including £15,000 upfront, "on the basis that the application (for judicial reviews) is withdrawn by consent."
The total costs of the legal challenge are £72,000 but the council insists it will not pay for the independent report which challenged the council's claims on night-time congestion. The report is thought to have cost "a few thousand pounds".
But Tim Johnson, a partner at law firm DAC Beachcroft, which handled the legal challenge, said it was a "fundamental" element of the judicial review application and should be covered by the council.
A full judicial review hearing is still scheduled at the High Court before the end of March. The opponents of the charges were granted the hearing in December, in part because of doubts over the council's consultation on the policy.
The total legal bill for both sides is approaching £100,000, with Westminster council's costs standing at £15,000.
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