A PROPOSAL to designate Enniskillen and Lisnaskea as ‘holiday resorts’, which would allow large stores to open for longer on Sundays, has been rejected by Council officials.
Under current legislation, large stores over a certain size are only allowed to open for a limited number of hours, from 1-6pm, on Sundays in the North. During the Covid pandemic, for a number of months these trading rules were relaxed to allow for social distancing and to accommodate health workers.
In a report due to be submitted to the Council’s environmental services committee tonight (Wednesday), officials have revealed that supermarket giant Lidl has submitted a request for Enniskillen, Lisnaskea, and Omagh to be designated as ‘holiday resorts’, which would allow large stores to open longer.
The supermarket chain has also made similar requests of councils across the North.
In the report, officials note that during previous discussions on Sunday trading times, councillors had “raised concerns on a range of matters such as the potential negative impact on employees, the need for staff to have a good work/life balance, and the ability of people to attend their place of worship.”
“Officers held a consultation with the Churches Forum at that time and whilst they appreciated the need for the extension of opening hours due to the Covid-19 situation, they were concerned for any wider relaxation of Sunday trading hours, beyond a defined period through Christmas 2020.”
The report noted that Fermanagh and Omagh Council officials had been speaking with counterparts in councils elsewhere, and there were “varying degrees of uptake” on the Lidl application.
Overall, the local Council officials recommended councillors do not approve the request by Lidl.
“Based on previous discussions with members and the Churches Forum, it is proposed that the current arrangements for Sunday trading remain.
“It is therefore recommended that the Council replies to Lidl advising that there will be no extension of Sunday trading hours for large shops, through the designation of areas within the district as a ‘holiday resort’.”
Councillors will have the chance to vote on the proposal at tonight’s committee meeting.
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