DSD Consults on Extended Sunday Opening

The Minister for Social Development, Alex Attwood has published a discussion paper about easing the current restrictions on Sunday opening for large shops.

The existing law on Sunday opening means that large shops (those with a floor area exceeding 280 square metres) are able to open on Sundays with certain restrictions.  Large shops are able to open on Sundays at any time between 1pm and 6pm but not on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day if it falls on a Sunday.  The rules on Sunday opening are more flexible in England, Wales and Scotland.

The DSD has issued five basic options for consideration:

• no change to the existing rules where large shops can be open from 1pm to 6pm
• allowing large shops to open between 12pm and 5pm
• allowing large shops to open for six hours between 10am and 6pm (this is the current situation in England and Wales)
• allowing large shops to open earlier, at 11am or 12pm and trade to 6pm
• no national restrictions on shop opening hours (this is the current situation in Scotland where only some district controls apply).

Comments are invited on these issues and others in the discussion paper which is available for download from the DSD website at www.dsdni.gov.uk.