In a bid to boost England’s high streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, the UK government have now announced shops will be given the option to stay open 24 hours a day in the run-up to Christmas.
Under current laws, retailers which want to stay open outside the window of 9am to 7pm must apply for permission but Housing and Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said he wants to help business owners by pausing the process when non-essential shops re-open on December 2nd to encourage greater trade.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Jenrick 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.”
“Therefore 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 if wish.
“And those stores and supermarkets will be able to replenish their shelves whenever they wish, with flexible deliveries to keep the streets free for the rest of us when we are out and about.”
Jenrick also said the new rules would apply in December and January.
He added: “In a year when government has necessarily interjected into our lives in ways none of us who value individual liberty would ever have imagined, these changes remind us that we can and must seek every way to reduce the burden of bureaucracy and free our small businesspeople to get on with earning a living and serving the public”.
News of all-day shopping over the festive period comes after Primark recently announced it would keep 11 of its stores open 24/7 following lockdown.