West Yorkshire stores opening 24/7 for Christmas shopping
Shops will be given permission to trade around the clock as the high street tries to recoup some of the losses it has suffered during the pandemic
Shops will be given permission to trade around the clock as the high street tries to recoup some of the losses it has suffered during the pandemic, a cabinet minister said.
Retailers normally have to go through a lengthy and time-consuming process to apply to local authorities under the Town and Country Planning Act if they wish to extend hours outside the window of 9am to 7pm.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said he wanted to remove the bureaucracy to encourage greater trade - allowing shops to open for up to 24 hours a day in December and January.
In a newspaper, he has said:
"With these changes local shops can open longer, ensuring more pleasant and safer shopping with less pressure on public transport.
"How long will be a matter of choice for the shopkeepers and at the discretion of the council, but I suggest we offer these hard pressed entrepreneurs and businesses the greatest possible flexibility this festive season.
"As Local Government Secretary I am relaxing planning restrictions and issuing an unambiguous request to councils to allow businesses to welcome us into their glowing stores late into the evening and beyond.''
It comes after Mr Jenrick suggested some areas could be moved into a lower tier when the first 14-day review of the latest system of tiered local controls takes place in mid-December.
A record number of shops closed during the first half of 2020 due to the coronavirus lockdown, according to new research.
Sir Philip Green's struggling Arcadia Group, which runs the Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton brands, has been revealed to be on the brink of collapse with around 15,000 jobs at risk.