Retail industry calls for collaboration in 24-hour trading extension

Retail and property organisations have urged landlords and tenants to work quickly and collaboratively to extend opening hours, as the government relaxes laws to allow for 24/7 festive trading. From today, shops will have permission to extend their hours beyond the standard 9am-7pm without having to apply to local authorities under the Town and Country Planning Act. These will remain open no matter what tier is operating locally. The British Retail Consortium, British Property Federation and Revo are calling on property owners and retailers to do the following: If retailers want to operate longer opening hours, they should contact shopping centre owners/operators to inform them of their plans as soon as possible. Owners/operators of retail locations should contact retailers to inform them of what longer opening hours are possible. Owners/operators of retail locations should assess how many and which retailers actually want to operate longer hours in this period. Owners should apportion any additional costs (for example security, cleaning, essential maintenance) incurred as a result of longer opening among those retailers that want to open for longer through their service charges, which should be paid as normal. Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “Extended opening hours in December will provide a positive boost for non-essential retail in the run up to Christmas – giving shoppers more time, keeping them safe and ensuring their experience is as comfortable as possible – and property owners will want to support. “If a retailer would like to benefit from the extended opening hours, this will require engaging as soon as possible with shopping centre owners and operators to ensure centres can fund and provide the necessary additional cleaning services and security.” Vivienne King, chief executive of Revo, said: “We welcome the government’s move to extend opening hours to help save Christmas for our shops, shop staff and customers and we feel sure owners, operators and occupiers will work together to make this work for all concerned. “With shoppers set to return in numbers, preparation needs to be underway to ensure centres and retail places are ready to welcome them in.”   To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette Photo by Carlo Cozzoli/Shutterstock (11088657g)