Nantwich Town Council U-turn on booking fees

Nantwich Town councillors have agreed to u-turn on a decision to charge as much as 20% booking fee for paid-for events in its venues.

It comes as one councillor labelled extra charges placed on ticket sales as “a racket”.

Since April, the town council has charged £1 on every in-person and over the phone ticket booking, and £2 on every online booking.

But for events where tickets are just £10, that means adding a whopping 20% booking fee on top of the ticket price.

Councillors were told that amateur drama group Nantwich Players felt this was over-charging and are now no longer selling tickets for their performances through the town council.

Comedy Club tickets are sold online and would also see a hefty 20% booking fee if booked through the town council.

“In comparison, their current online provider fees are only £1.20 per ticket, so this gives the customer no incentive to book tickets through the town council,” a report to councillors highlighted.

Cllr Arthur Moran told Thursday’s council meeting: “I asked for this to be re-considered.

“Putting a surcharge on ticket sales, it’s just a racket.

“Our ticket prices for our shows are only around £17.50.

“If you put a surcharge on that, people will spend less on something else, such as behind the bar for refreshments.”

Town council clerk Samantha Roberts put forward a recommendation of a 5% transaction/booking fee in future, to cover administration costs and use of booking software.

Cllr Anna Burton added: “It’s concerning to lose Nantwich Players, that’s really sad. They have gone to their own online system.

“Our job is to keep the town vibrant and we want to keep encouraging people to use our facilities, and keep the Civic Hall vibrant and active.

“Anything we can do to help Nantwich Players and others is really important and I think residents would agree with this.”

Councillors voted through the decision to change the booking fee policy, with 5% transaction fee to be used in future.

It’s estimated that the decision will lead to a loss to the council of around £7,000.