Communities secretary Robert Jerrick has announced plans to allow shops to open for longer throughout the festive period and into the new year.
Councils will be able to waive restrictions on opening hours in the lead-up to Christmas to allow for safer shopping and help shopowners recoup sales lost during the current lockdown.
Currently, any shop wishing to open beyond 9am to 7pm on Monday to Saturday must apply for special permission, which can take weeks, but this process will be suspended in December and January.
Individual shop owners will be allowed to decide their opening hours with the option of being open 24/7 if they want.
Jenrick told The Daily Telegraph: “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.”
Retailers including Marks & Spencer, Primark, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have already announced decisions to extend pre-Christmas trading hours with some locations trading 24/7.
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