The UK’s major supermarkets could be set to make major changes to their parking rules, with talks in the early stages. According to The Grocer, ministers are set to look into the rules around Sunday trading hours which could see shops such as Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons stay open for longer.
Under the Sunday Trading Act, large shops, deemed to be those over 280 square meters, can only open for six hours on Sunday between 10am and 6pm. Most stores decide to open their doors from 10am to 4pm, but this could be about to change.
If stores are allowed to remain open for longer, supermarket car parks would also likely be accessible well into Sunday afternoon and evening.
A source told The Grocer: "The idea of looking again at Sunday trading hours has been raised by Treasury sources as part of a wider discussion over rates reform and measures that could help retailers, but at the moment there are no firm plans – it’s much more a case of people flying kites.
"We’ve been down this path at least three times before and each time we have seen a similar pattern of events and the same outcome. There will be some retailers who are strongly in favour of this and others opposed.”
It comes after Rachel Reeves is looking at increasing rates for large stores and online businesses as part of a sweep of changes in the Autumn budget.
The Chancellor has the power to raise the business rates multiplier by up to 10p for large premises. However, a delegation of retailers is understood to have met Ms Reeves last week to express their fury over rate rise plans.
Many claim the new prices could lead to store closures across the country and redundancies across the sector. Stores used to be completely closed on Sundays, but the six-hour window was introduced in August 1994.
Sunday trading laws were temporarily relaxed for large stores for eight consecutive Sundays in the summer of 2012 as a result of the Olympic Games. The Conservatives considered scrapping Sunday trading rules during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but the idea was later dropped.
London businesses also called for a change in 2023 with many struggling to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
