Sunday trading decision 'should be up to shops', says Retail Strategy Group

RETAILERS should have the freedom and option to trade on a Sunday, the chairman behind a new strategy into the sector has said.

The Guernsey Retail Strategy Group has put forward proposals to rejuvenate the industry, including the controversial issue of Sunday trading.

The report said that while 'a majority' of shoppers and retailers were keen to retain the law broadly as it was now, the group felt the decision should lie with businesses.

'In the long-term we think if people want to open on a Sunday, they should be able to open – free of restrictions,' group chairman Tony Rowbotham said.

'It doesn't mean retailers are forced to open, it means they have the right to open.

'We are aware there is a mixture of feelings in the island and some retailers are not supportive of the idea, but I think Sunday trading should be purely up to the discretion of the retailers.'