Fees for sex shop licences are dropping by £1,825.

Kirklees Council has decreased the charge to £750 following a court ruling in London.

But fees for taxi driver and cab office licences are increasing by 3.5% which will net the council between £9,000 and £13,000 a year more to cover costs.

Scrap metal merchant fees are also to be reviewed and the council will consider a horse drawn Hackney carriage application.

Council papers show the authority recognises the hike among the 2,900 taxi drivers and firms in Kirklees may cause “anxiety”.

Councillors at Monday’s Licensing and Safety Committee will consider the fees for all four services.

The council’s report says the last licensing increase was in 2011 at the rate of inflation.

Now they’re proposing to hike discretionary fees covering taxi and private hire licensing.

A licence renewal rises by £1.73 to £51.23 for 2,350 drivers and new driver applications will rise by £8.84 to £261.64 for around 158 drivers a year.

Private Hire and Hackney carriage vehicle licences will also increase along with a hike in the Operators licence.

The report says: “This year it is recognised that there is a forecast shortfall in taxi and private hire licensing in that the fees currently charged will not cover the full cost of service delivery.

“In recognition of the on-going economic downturn the proposal is to limit the increase in fees to 3.5%.”

The council says the increase will cover administrative, inspection and enforcement, cover resources and recover costs of running the service.

There are only three sex shop licences issued in Kirklees and they will benefit from a cut – the £2,575 licences falls to £750.

Kirklees says: “The proposed fees reflect this reduction in costs and will enable the council to reasonably recover its costs in relation to sex shop licensing.”

The fee review follows a recent case against Westminster City Council where the court reinforced a legal principle that where a council profits from licence fees, it must carry those surplus fees forward when determining any fees for future years.

The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, passed in February, will come into force in October.

Kirklees has seen an increase in the number of people applying for registration as itinerant scrap metal dealers.

Fees range from £60 per application to £1,800 overall to cover site visits, council hearings and costs such as paperwork. It covers costs-only and should not generate extra money.

Finally councillors will consider an draft policy after receiving an application for a horse drawn Hackney carriage.

It will be considered with the assistance of the British Driving Society.

The council is asking that the horse used for the driving is seen by a vet every 12 months and accidents reported to the authority within 72 hours.